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Woman blamed in fiance’s kayaking death is leaving prison

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Angelika Graswald stands with her attorneys Jeffrey Chartier, left, and Richard Portale during her sentencing at the Orange County courthouse in Goshen, N.Y. in November.

GOSHEN, N.Y. >> A woman initially charged with murder in the drowning death of her fiance during a New York kayak outing is being released from prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge.

Thirty-seven-year-old Angelika Graswald, of Poughkeepsie, admitted she should have perceived the risk of danger and was sentenced in November to 16 months to four years in prison.

Graswald and 46-year-old Vincent Viafore went kayaking on a choppy Hudson River in April 2015. Investigators initially said Viafore’s kayak started sinking after Graswald secretly removed a drain plug.

State corrections spokesman Thomas Mailey says Graswald is being conditionally released from Bedford Hills Correctional Facility on Thursday.

Graswald has been in prison since her arrest, and it’s counted as time served. Prosecutors say she could face deportation to her native Latvia after parole.

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