SJC upholds murder conviction of Ryan Welch in killing of Jessica Pripstein
Ryan D. Welch during his arraignment in 2012. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
Published: 5/15/2021 9:13:59 AM
EASTHAMPTON The state’s highest court has ruled to uphold the first-degree murder conviction of an Easthampton man who killed his girlfriend in 2012.
The Supreme Judicial Court, or SJC, on Friday denied the request of Ryan Welch convicted in 2014 of the murder of Jessica Ann Pripstein in the couple’s Easthampton apartment for a new trial. The court upheld several rulings by Hampshire Superior Court judges C. Jeffrey Kinder and Daniel Ford. Welch had been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
SJC hears appeal of Cara Rintala, Granby woman convicted of murdering wife in 2010
Updated May 06, 2021;
Posted May 06, 2021
Cara Rintala in Northampton Superior Court on day 8 of her 2016 trial. (Don Treeger / The Republican)Staff-Shot
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Annamarie Cochrane Rintala was 37 when she was found strangled on March 29, 2010 at their home.
The basis for the appeal hearing, granted by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, includes defense allegations the prosecution’s paint expert’s findings lacked scientific rigor; and that superior court judge presiding over the trial, Mary-Lou Rup, now retired, had abused her discretion.
The defendant’s lawyer is disputing prosecution evidence related to paint found at the scene of the dead body, questioning the methodology used to determine how fast that took to dry.
State moves Hampshire County trials to rented space in Greenfield
SULLIVAN
The front entrance to the main building at the Greenfield Corporate Center on Munson Street, where the state Executive Office of the Trial Court plans to move trials for Hampshire County as well as the Franklin County Grand Jury. Staff Photo/Paul Franz
The main building at the Greenfield Corporate Center on Munson Street in Greenfield that was the temporary home of the Franklin County Courthouse during construction of the present Justice Center. The state Executive Office of the Trial Court plans to move trials for Hampshire County as well as the Franklin County Grand Jury here. Staff Photo/Paul Franz