And she would just call out of the blue., According to the Free Patricia Rorrer page on Facebook:I called him to let him know that I was going to the USA finals for a horse show. The case rocked Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and resulted in the conviction of Patricia Rorrer, now 53, the ex-girlfriend of Katrinak's husband. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. Just recently, however, that hope was dashed when the court denied her appeal. Born on January 24, 1964, in eastern Pennsylvania, Patricia Rorrer spent most of her life going back and forth between the Keystone State and North Carolina. Patricia has always maintained her innocence. At the trial, prosecutor Michael McIntyre alleged that Patricia remained obsessed with Andrew Katrinak long after their breakup despite testimony that shed had many boyfriends and live-in lovers to occupy her bandwidth. Why was the jury never told that Patricia Rorrer was under surveillance in North Carolina at the time of the crime? On closer inspection, he saw it was the body of a woman. After a very early failed marriage, the 24-year-old Joann scored a new husband in Andrew Katrinak, 38, whom she met at a club. A hair sample that helped put Patricia Rorrer behind bars for life could be the key to set her free. Police slowly built a case against Patricia. She was always looking for a fight, Gary Gabard told the Morning Call, which noted that he was a head shorter than Patricia. In TV clips, Andrew didnt come off as anguished. Thats all for this post. Georgia Teen Vanished In South Carolina, Search Continues For North Carolina Girl, 11, Whose Parents Didnt Report Her Missing For Weeks, Where Is Ella Goodie? Conflicting versions. A hair sample that helped put Patricia Rorrer behind bars for life could be the key to set her free. She was sentenced to two life terms in prison without parole. Strands of the accuseds dyed-blond hair at two crime scenes proved it. Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV. endobj Everything from compromised crime scenes and contaminated evidence, to suspects who were never cleared, witness statements that were withheld from the defense, and crucial evidence that was simply dismissed and ignored has cast doubt on Rorrers guilt and led to a number of unanswered questions. Why did they refuse to conduct DNA testing on a cigarette butt found with the bodies? And Andrews explanation of how the intruder got in through the basement door seemed contrived, according to Grube, who gave an interview to Wrong Man, a 2020 true-crime docuseries from the Starz network, which produced two episodes called The Hang Up about the Rorrer case. As for an epilogue on ex-flame Andrew Katrinak, he has moved to Colorado and kept a low profile since the trial ended. Tillman disappeared in from New York City when he was only 14 years old. DNA testing showed that Patricia could not be excluded as the source of the hairs and according to the prosecution that, combined with circumstantial evidence, was enough to convict her. They broke up in 1993. She failed miserably to convince me, or anyone else who mattered, of her innocence. You have permission to edit this article. Years later, conviction in Katrinak murder still raises questions, Stormcenter - School / Business Application. Still, no good leads materialized. Morrison did speak with Rorrer about the case, but cameras were barred from the prison. On January 11, 2021, Its definitely getting rougher every day, Andrew told the Morning Call. The family of Joseph Smedley, who was found dead in a lake in 2015, still want answers about a mysterious text message and a backpack full of rocks. Why was no root noted on the hairs found in Joanns car until, Why does the FBIs own report state that the hairs found in Joanns car. And dance instructor William Jarrett couldnt remember whether she attended his dance class at the club the night of Joanns disappearance. Men who murder are conventional, women are sensational, posits the Worldwide Womens Criminal Justice Network. If Patricia drove it back from the murder scene after she shot Joann and then beat her to death, luminal would have lit up the interior. Aside from the hair, there was almost zero forensic evidence. She was thus sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole, plus an added 10-20 years for the kidnapping charges, to be served consecutively. I really never thought of it again.. Plus: Young boys body found in Nevada freezer; man accused of murdering, and Florida serial killer convicted of three murders. All of STARZ blockbuster movies, epic originals, and addictive series. Joanns car was later found next door in the parking lot of a local tavern. Shes utterly believable. Following the disappearance of Joann and Alex Katrinak, Joanns husband Andrew told police he believed someone had broken into his house, cut the telephone line and abducted his wife and son. Superior Court notes that Rorrers attorney, Craig Neely, is being paid at. Why First Republic failed. During Patricias hours-long turn in the witness chair, Michael McIntyre grilled her relentlessly. However, as profiled on IDs Deadly Women: Green-Eyed Monsters, Joanns husbands ex-girlfriend, Patricia Rorrer, was eventually identified as their perpetrator. Declaration of DNA Expert on Rorrer's Behalf (pdf) Download. Walmart woe. 3 0 obj Around April 1995, the cold and badly decomposed remains of 26-year-old Joann Katrinak and her 3.5-month-old toddler Alex Katrinak were recovered from the woods in Heidelberg Township, Pennsylvania. Shes just extremely happy with Andy, her brother, Michael OConnor, told the media. These are but a brief sampling of the many errors and inaccuracies contained in Superior Courts opinion. On Aug. 5, 1993, Holly Piirainen, 10, and her brother went to a neighbor's house to play with puppies. After eliminating Andrew as a suspect in the killings, detectives set their sights on Rorrer, charging her with two counts of murder and kidnapping. I was so excited that I called everyone, and Joanne picked up the phone and she said Andy is married, and I said I know, then she said we have a baby, and I said yea I know, then she said dont ever call here again. PATRICIA RORRER, : : Petitioner : v. : CIVIL ACTION NUMBER 19-01398 : WENDY K. NICHOLAS, : : Respondents : MOTION FOR DISCOVERY AND CONSOLIDATED MEMORANDUM OF LAW . Patricias defenders also say Andrew Katrinak staged the scene at his house by prying the door and cutting the phone line. As for the murder weapon, police didnt find a .22 caliber pistol on Patricias property, but an ex-boyfriend claimed that she owned one and it would always jam after one shot. Why did they refuse to investigate a hair found in the victims right hand? On December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son Alex disappeared without a trace from their home in Catasauqua, Pa. Patricia Rorrer, the ex-girlfriend of Katrinaks husband, was convicted of the murders and has maintained her innocence for 20 years while serving life behind bars. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. While baby Alexs cause of death has never been determined, Joann had been severely beaten and shot. She is a tough one, Sheriff Gerald Hege would later tell the Morning Call in a June 29, 1997 interview. 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Prosecutors offered Patricia a plea deal that would take the death penalty off the table, but she declined. Pick up PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: Cases That Shocked America, on sale now, for the latest on Casey Anthony, JonBent Ramsey and more. Patricia also pointed out that when author Tammy Mal started her research and speaking to me, she was not an advocate at all but she reversed and ended up advocating for Patricias innocence. Judge's Order Granting Discovery (pdf) Download. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. The 5-foot-9-inch-tall Patricia was physically strong, no match for 5-foot-4-inch Joann. The entire forensics examination from beginning to end was just awful.". On a secret recording, Patricia asked Jarrett to vouch for her attendance or she might go to the electric char. According to the prosecution it was enough to convict. <>>> Photo by: Harry Fisher/Allentown Morning Call/TNS via Getty Images, Harry Fisher/Allentown Morning Call/TNS via Getty Images. They had a son, Alex Martin, in August of 1994. Later, they both worked 12-hour graveyard shifts at a textile factory. 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Patricia Lynne Rorrer made for a good suspect. ), The Wrong Man investigators Ira Todd and Joe Kennedy have some theories of their own. An infant was lying face down on her stomach. Jessie Morrison is beaten to death, police zero in on Vonda Smith. Starting at. $Hm$5c&BRIb)iRsSI(*b|(:b|(*Plxt%|:J'i6. As for the words exchanged on the call between the two big-haired women, Joann told Andrew that Patricia had used profanity; Patricia said it was the other way around. Highly charged case. When Andy Katrinak comes home to find his wife and infant son gone, he summons the police and tells them he believes they have been abducted, and he suspects his ex-girlfriend Patty Rorrer m Patty Rorrer is convicted of the kidnapping and murder of her ex-boyfriend's wife and infant son, but "Wrong Man" investigators discover that the case is not so clear cut. She has been telling the same story for over 20 years, Morrison explains. But it wasnt until the police linked Rorrer to the crime through a DNA match between her and a hair recovered from Joanns car that they finally had enough to arrest her. Charles Robert, the 3-month-old son she had with Gary Gabard, died of sudden infant death syndrome; Patricia found him blue in his crib. How would an intruder find it? After six hours of deliberations, in March 1998, a jury found Patricia guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of kidnapping. Michael Workmans son, Fredrick James Workman, disappeared at age 15 and may use the alias "Fred Shields.". ET features interviews with all the key players from the 1998 trial of Rorrer, who is currently behind bars. There was an error processing your request. Another witness, Walter Traupman, who never testified, had told state troopers that on the day of Joanns disappearance, he saw a couple who looked like Joann and Andrew arguing about the paternity of a baby. She beat Katrinak, shot her and left her and her baby for dead in the woods in Heidelberg Township. MURDER IN LEHIGH VALLEY: KEITH MORRISON INVESTIGATES is produced for Investigation Discovery by NBC News Peacock Productions with executive producers Elizabeth Fischer and Knute Walker, senior producer Kimberley Ferdinando and the president and general manager of Peacock Productions, Sharon Scott. They noted houses near the murder scene would have heard a gunshot in December, when no farm equipment is making noise, and question why the murderer didnt just kill Joann inside her house instead of risking being seen in public in her car. More hairs there. Dial-a-problem. Pfeiffer and Burke claimed that police Sgt. In addition to the Facebook page, there are Reddit threads on her case. Investigators theorized that this action angered Patricia into a jealous rage that ended with abduction and murder. But investigators conceded they had no solid evidence against Andrew. That's according to Craig Neely, who worked on the case for years as the defense attorney. Therefore, today, in her late 50s, Patricia is imprisoned at the maximum-security State Correctional Institution Muncy in Clinton Township, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the case of the missing mother and baby turned into colossal news across the U.S. and internationally. One on one? . Murder in Lehigh Valley: Keith Morrison Investigates airs this Sunday, March 5 at 8pm on Investigation Discovery and is produced by NBC News Peacock Productions. Plus, he had only a minimal life insurance policy on Joann and he passed polygraphs, according to The FBI Files: Family Secrets. At 17, Patricia dropped out of high school and married landscaper Gary Gabard. Discovery, Inc. or its subsidiaries and affiliates. (Media sources vary as to whether she actually worked at the stable or just rented a stall there for her own horse.). Once, when a gun-wielding farmer and his buddy caught Patricia and Gary riding motorcycles on his field, Patricia walked up and got in their faces and argued, Gary recalled to the Morning Call. Although the prosecution used it as evidence that she was trying to create a false alibi, it actually sounded more like Patricia was simply trying to nail down the facts he had already asserted to her. Joann and Alex Katrinak both vanished in 1994. Toxic chemicals in Emmaus water could cost at least $24M to fix, 'Can't wait to see everyone': After 3-year hiatus, beloved Easton deli nears reopening, How do you know your money is safe? In 1994, a mother, Joann Katrinak, and her baby disappeared and their bodies were later found in Heidelberg Township. In April 1995, the family buried Joann and Alex in a single bronze casket after a funeral mass at a Bethlehem church. Pal stays true. <>/ExtGState<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> Katrinak's husband's ex-girlfriend was convicted of the crime, but now there's a possibility the case could be reopened. 'Wrong Man" is a six-episode series from acclaimed award-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost Trilogy) that examines cases of inmates who have been incarcerated for decades and claim they're innocent.more. But a child eyewitness told police that he had seen a white man kill her. 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Patricia was wrongfully convicted and we will show you how! No charmed life. Patricia seemed like the girl next door but all of a sudden, something snapped, Katrinak later told Wrong Man investigators. . (In an exclusive clip, Morrison questions the tactics of prosecutor Michael McIntyre.). Investigators in Nashville, Tennessee are looking for help identifying a young female found deceased in 2018. I most definitely will not personally afford Patricia a platform, Michael said in an email to ForensicFilesNow.com She had her chance to answer my questions and tell her story in court over 20 years ago. She asked to speak with Andrew, who was home during the call; Joann refused. Patricia Rorrer was wrongfully convicted of Murder. For one thing, her mother never asked Sandra Ireland to hide the gun, and she retrieved it on the way home the next day she worked as a bus driver and couldnt take it with her to school. Since that time, Rorrer has held out hope that Pennsylvanias Superior Court would grant her a hearing to examine the new evidence that has come to light in her case. stream Indigenous Student Ashley Loring HeavyRunner Still Missing, Toddlers Orrin and Orson West Still Missing From California, Woman Who Helped Find Missing People Disappears, Family Still Hopeful, Edmond Tillman: Police Still Searching For Teen Missing Since 2005, Young Unidentified Female Wearing Vanderbilt University Apparel Still Not Identified, An Unsolved July 4th Child Murder Still Haunts Southeast Texas, Family Still Looking For Answers In 1965 Disappearance Of Elizabeth Gill, Iowa Father Still Searching For Answers 8 Years After Sons Disappearance, Still Shrouded In Mystery: Florida Woman Fatally Shot At Sheriff Deputys Home, An Indiana Family Still Wants Answers In A Young Mans Mysterious Death, An Upstate New York Child Is Still Missing With No Arrests In The Case. And James Pfeiffer and Jim Burke have remained on her side. Most of all, Patricia said, she would like a rematch with prosecutor Michael McIntyre. Mike McIntyre was the first assistant district attorney in Lehigh County during the case and says he's surprised Rorrer is making another attempt to get out of prison. On December 12, 1994, Joann answered a phone call from a woman shed never met, Patricia Rorrer, her husbands onetime girlfriend. She currently has an appeal pending in Pennsylvania Superior Court. <> It showed her usually all-brown hair haphazardly highlighted blond. But none of those charges ever stuck. Another former boyfriend said she talked about Andrew frequently and liked to gaze at old photos of him. Further, an early FBI report said the hairs found in the car had no roots which contain the DNA suggesting an evidence switcheroo. Contained in Superior Courts 22-page opinion are a minimum of 24 factual errors; many of which are extremely serious. Neely said once state police started to focus on Rorrer as a potential suspect, they went to North Carolina where she was living and they obtained a sample of her hair to compare to the ones found at the scene. Patricia Rorrer was a cold woman. Unbloody vehicle. She is sitting in Muncey Women's Correctional Facility for over 23 years now for something. Uncover shocking new evidence in Patricia Rorrer's case with a new episode of #WrongMan, now on the STARZ App. Two-Part Special Premieres Sunday, March 5 at 8/7c; Features Exclusive First-Ever Interview with Inmate Patricia Rorrer (Silver Spring, Md.) t2c2ue\;,&3g^SjZGk? Neely has filed a petition for post conviction relief for Rorrer because he says critical evidence in the case doesn't add up. 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It was one of the biggest murder cases to rock the Lehigh Valley.
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