The killer was Patricia Rorrer, the jealous ex-girlfriend of Joann's husband, Andrew. Patty Rorrer is convicted of the kidnapping and murder of her ex-boyfriends wife and infant son, but Wrong Man investigators discover that the case is not so clear cut. Chapter 1. However, her name was not on the sign-in list. She has been incarcerated for 24+ years. Use quotation marks to search as a It's not often there's a laundry list of clear signals, but it's fun to iterate them when there are so many. ir.library.oregonstate.edu Most prosecutors wouldn't even take such paltry evidence into court today. Its definitely getting rougher every day, Andrew told the Morning Call. 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. Patricia Rorrer - Wrongful Conviction, Innocent, Nonprofit The state police dropped him as a suspect. Since then our team has proven that Patricia is innocent. Rorrer claims the DNA evidence used to send . And who'd be heartless enough to kill an infant as well? A hearing on the issue got heated Tuesday. The bodies of Joann Katrinak and her baby were found in a wooded area of Heidelberg Township in 1994. I cant lose them, he told the media. Dial-a-problem. . I lived more than 500 miles away, was engaged to be married, was a new mother, and all of a sudden I'm arrested for murdering two people I'd never even met? Patricia Rorrer's Story - RIGHT TO REDEMPTION 6-10. Patricia Taylor Allanson, the Deadly Magnolia, was released from prison in 1999. Patricia Rorrer has been in prison since 1998, convicted of the horrific murder of a young mother, Joann Katrinak, and her 16-week old son, in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. An exterior door to their basement had been wrenched open, the lock hasp's screws literally ripped from the wall. Also she worked as a realtor so it's not that unreasonable for her to know which line to cut. Patricia knew her gun tended to jam, but she used it anyway. Patricia Rorrer is found guilty of the abduction and murder of Joann Katrinak and her infant son, Alex. DNA from that and a cigarette butt linked Patricia to the offense. Forensic Files (season 5) - Wikipedia Patricia Rorrer was wrongfully convicted of Murder. WATCH: ID Examines 1994 Lehigh Valley Double-Murder - Peoplemag Patricia Rorrer List of Movies and TV Shows - TV Guide They theorized might've simply started a new life with another man, but this seemed absurd to everyone who knew Joann. They never looked into Andy who failed several lie detector tests, tampered with evidence. Brad Jackson was able to describe what his daughter Valiree was wearing in incredible detail, down to the color of her socks. She claimed to have been home during this period how did her defense team justify such a departure from Patricia's norm? 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Is to get Patricia a fair trial that will prove her innocence, and give justice to Joann and Alex who died a horrific death. This had been taken just 11 days before Joann's disappearance. Our Mission. Dr. Edward E. "Gene" Rorrer, Sr. Obituary Christopher Tapp, who was convicted of the 1996 sexual assault and murder of an 18-year-old girl in Idaho, was coerced into confessing to the crime after an estimated 150 hours of interrogations. Both were deceased. ", "Due to the fact that she sustained one gunshot wound to the face, and then approximately 19 blows to the head led us to believe that the gun probably had jammed. Police treated Joann's car as a potential crime scene, and their investigation turned up several blonde hairs on the head rest. He wanted to move to Colorado and she was against it.. The same source indicates Patricia Rorrer has repeatedly appealed for a retrial and exoneration, but each request has been denied. The prosecution alleged that after the murder, Patricia drove Joanns car to McCartys parking lot and backed it into a parking space. It was never tested. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Patricias phone bill showed no record of a call to Catasauqua that day, but police noticed she didnt make any calls at all from her house in North Carolina that day either suggesting she could have been out of state and used a pay phone to dial up the Katrinaks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lo9AIFM_vc&fbclid=IwAR28Mf5rKuUyaq1N-vBqirZM_382D69Zy42uONlU3Qf0eNEnJ1w_kYRYKIM. I really never thought of it again.. When police traveled to North Carolina to interview Patricia about the murders of Joann and Alex, she said that on the day of the homicides, she had visited a feed store, a tanning salon, and a country music club. And, I was quite angry with the police, that they accused Andy. Every time you take your infant to the Dr., they take measurements, so I'm wondering if records exist that show the baby was always in the higher percentile, or if he was say, 60-70th percentile, then suddenly BAM! They broke up in 1993. Brisk with west to northwest winds around 10-20mph gusting to 30mph.. Mostly cloudy with less wind and a few breaks in the clouds overnight. A few eyewitnesses who didnt testify at her initial trial also back her statements of being in North Carolina on that fateful day, but nothing has been proven. They were hardly decomposed after a mild winter. Yet, everything changed when they lost their 3-month-old son to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Louise Rorrer Bryant, age 79, of Fieldale, Va., passed away on May 15, 2022. The Irish-Italian girl had full, fluffy dark hair, olive skin, and a pretty face. Her mother, Patricia Chambers, provided day care for their baby son, Charles. Why did the police not look into these things? This explosive case is back in the spotlight, reopening old wounds and creating new ones. Please walk thru her website and see for yourself how easy it is to be convicted of something you had nothing to do with. Patricia, who moved from PA to North Carolina, made long distance calls from her home practically every day, except for the time period between December 11 and 16. In April 1995, the family buried Joann and Alex in a single bronze casket after a funeral mass at a Bethlehem church. McItyre said this is hearsay and the officer has refuted everything in an affidavit. Joann Katrinaks Killer Still Has Innocence Advocates(A Woman Scorned, Forensic Files). Dateline NBC's Keith Morrison Explores Claims of a Wrongful Conviction Image Title Airdate Season Episode Series Episode "Sleeping with the Enemy" August 7, 2015: 1: 120 Texan Darlene Gentry is a self-centered former beauty queen who enjoys the party girl lifestyle and whose marriage to husband Keith is collapsing under the debt she has incurred. I think you might have mistaken what's being mentioned in the Washington Post article; that is talking about microscopic hair analysis, which is when they compare two strands of hair for a match. Prosecutors also claimed DNA hair evidence found in the car matched Patricia's hair at the time (using what was considered valid DNA methods). I watched the show the other night and watched some YouTube videos afterwards and there was interview footage of Joanns sister saying that Alex was a big healthy baby. 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. I knew when Joann was pregnant and although surprised because Andy had once told me he didn't want children and wasn't sure he could have children, I was again happy for him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDGl9dMgHwY&fbclid=IwAR1nlAYf6AcIu_i8kN0fD_MCD3CnxJ6DG_oUgVFdqN3b2EJ4fcLO2ci3wWc. . Other loyal friends and associates attested to Patricias kindness toward horses and devotion to her daughter, whom she took along as she worked in stables. Pfeiffer and Burke claimed that police Sgt. Unbloody vehicle. But investigators conceded they had no solid evidence against Andrew. Patricia's investigators are petitioning to DNA test the single strain of hair found in Joann's hand. 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. 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. They initially thought Joann's husband Andy may have committed this crime, so they didn't check into Patricia's story of being in a dance class during the time of the kidnapping. 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. S5 E7: Patricia Rorrer sits in prison for brutally murdering her ex-boyfriend's wife and baby out of spite. An ex-boyfriend of Patricia knew she owned a distinct .22 caliber pistol and knew of its tendency to jam, but Rorrer could only deny owning such a weapon. The 26-year-old was recently married, and this would be four-month-old Alex's first Christmas. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Joann Marie O'Connor Katrinak (1968-1994) - Find a Grave It's shocking to think that Patricia Rorrer, being a mother, could end the life of an infant. In 2015, the type of hair DNA science used was finally admitted to be junk by the FBI and incorrect in 96% of cases. Please watch the show Wrong Man which also found new evidence that supports my innocence. Because when she did, she quickly began to realize that there was a lot more to the story than the public ever knew. 1 talking about this. July 16, 1932 - September 10, 2020, Dr. Edward E. "Gene" Rorrer, Sr. passed away on September 10, 2020 in Abingdon, Virg. 3126 EDA 2012 Appeal from the PCRA Order October 11, 2012 In the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-39-CR-0002176-1997 BEFORE: BOWES, J., LAZARUS, J., and WECHT, J. (McIntyre said that Egan ignored Traupman because he was a nut who said that the man he saw arguing with the woman in a car was Hispanic but wearing a fake mustache and a toupee. Flaw in reasoning. Image credit: Episode screen capture from Forensic Files. This was part of Rorrer's defense strategy it seemed like an unrealistic motive to commit murder. Joseph Kocevar: Criminal Investigator, - Maj. Robert Werts: Homicide Investigator, Dr. Elizabeth Murray, Forensic Anthropologist, Brad Jackson was able to describe what his daughter Valiree was wearing, Jason Funk's role in Katie Froeschle's murder, Patricia Rorrer has repeatedly appealed for a retrial and exoneration, thoroughly researched article about the Patricia Rorrer case, Earl Bramblett murder of entire Hodges family, Darryl Kuehl take over murder of Paul Gruber, "the police actually said that, Oh, she probably ran away with someone. In a million years, Joann would never, never have run away.