Kriti Mehrotra
When Annamarie Cochrane Rintala was found dead inside her own Granby, Massachusetts, home on March 29, 2010, it left not just her loved ones but also the entire nation baffled to its core. That’s because she was covered in white paint, as carefully explored in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Down the Basement Stairs,’ and it soon came to light she’d actually been strangled at the hands of her wife, Cara. Yet for now, if you simply wish to learn more about the individual to have arguably been affected by this whole ordeal the most, the couple’s young daughter Brianna, we’ve got the details for you.
Who is Brianna Rintala?
It was reportedly back around 2002 when newly minted paramedic Annamarie first came across fellow professional Cara while at work, only for them to soon fall utterly head over heels in love. The truth is there was a clear six-year age gap between this duo, yet it didn’t matter to them in any way, shape, or form, and so they eventually even decided to tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony in 2007. They then settled down in a small western home before quickly beginning the adoption process to start a family too, shortly following which they had a beautiful baby girl named Brianna in their arms.
Brianna was thus merely two when she lost one of her mothers in the worst way conceivable, though the absolute heartwrenching aspect is that she’s also who’d discovered Annamarie’s remains. According to reports, Cara had left home with her in tow at 3 pm on the fateful day to run some errands as well as spend quality time together, only to return to an almost eerie quiet at roughly 7 pm. The latter later told officials she’d unsuccessfully been trying to reach her wife the whole day after a night of intense arguing, so she’d rushed to their bedroom to check on her upon coming back.
But alas, that’s when Brianna noticed a figure and shouted from downstairs, “Mommy’s in the basement,” per Cara’s records, driving her to find Annamarie and immediately realize something was wrong. She subsequently dialed 911, unaware the hopes she once had for her little girl growing up in a loving home with two moms would soon get blown apart — Annamarie was dead, and she was accused. Cara was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in connection to the manual strangulation death of her wife in October 2011 — she vehemently pleaded not guilty and hence began the trials.
Where is Brianna Rintala Now?
While Cara faced court proceedings, Brianna was ostensibly taken in by her grandparents — her living mother’s parents — in Rhode Island, where she resides to this day at the age of 16. We should actually mention that the former’s first trial in 2013 as well as the second in 2014 ended in mistrials because the jury could not come to a unanimous decision, so she was released to family on a $150,000 bail in March 2014. Her third time in 2016 did result in her being convicted and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, yet even this verdict was overturned upon appeal in September 2021.
Therefore, Cara was again released on a $50,000 cash bail in November, following which she moved in with Brianna and her parents in Narragansett, just to remain there until trial #4. This time around, she was found guilty of one count of voluntary manslaughter, for which she received 12-14 years behind bars with credit for the total 7½ already served over the years.
This verdict is honestly relatively lenient considering her guilt, but Brianna obviously isn’t happy because she wanted her mother back for good — she’d even said so in a statement during the sentencing hearing. This high schooler had urged the judge to show mercy and release Cara with a sentencing order of time served so that she could be a consistent part of her life, but to no avail.
Read More: Annamarie Rintala Murder: How Did She Die? Who Killed Her?
