Rintala was beaten and strangled; the district attorney continues to be reluctant to release more details.
Police respond a year ago, to 18 Barton St., Granby, where Annamarie Cochrane Rintala was killed in her home.One year after the death of Annamarie Cochrane Rintala, her family is still waiting for an arrest, but many believe catching her killer will not end their heartache.
Rintala was 37 when she was found dead by her wife, Cara L. Rintala, in their home on 18 Barton Road in Granby.
She had been hit multiple times in the head and strangled. She died March 29.
“Her father said the only way he will get closure is if Anna walks through the door,” says Pasquale Martin, of East Longmeadow, Rintala’s uncle who is serving as the spokesman for her parents, William C. and Lucy Cochrane.
Everyone in the family wants justice, but they are unsure if an arrest and eventual conviction in her murder will make their loss feel any less, Martin said. The family continues to work with police and believe they are doing everything they can do to solve the crime and bring the killer to justice, he added.
Since the day of the killing, the Northwestern district attorney’s office has been reluctant to release details about the crime. David E. Sullivan, who took over as district attorney in January, has also remained quiet about the case.
“The investigation into Annamarie Rintala’s murder remains active and ongoing,” said first assistant district attorney Steven E. Gagne in a written statement. “In no way did this change of administration impede, interrupt or interfere with the intensive investigation being led by the Massachusetts State Police and the Granby Police Department. The investigation into Ms. Rintala’s murder will continue until the perpetrator of this heinous crime is identified, apprehended and convicted.”
Gagne declined to give details of the crime or comment on whether police have any suspects, saying it could jeopardize the integrity of the investigation.
“Murder investigations often take significant time,” he said. “The speed or length of an investigation should not be interpreted as any indication of the solvability or strength of a case. Investigations do occasionally go cold or reach an impasse, but that is hardly the case here.”
While waiting for an answer as to why Cochrane Rintala was killed, dozens of friends have joined with her large and close family to raise money and remember her in other ways, Martin said.
On March 25 they held a memorial service at Sacred Heart Church in Springfield.
A week earlier, her brother Charles Cochrane and others formed a team to run in her memory in the St. Patrick’s Road Race in Holyoke on March 19.
Friends and relatives also wear bands that read “Live, Laugh, Love,” which is something Rintala said often, Martin said.
Rintala was half-Italian and grew up in the South End neighborhood of Springfield. Martin said he lived in one part of the house as a young man and Annamarie and her brother lived in an apartment in the house with their parents, so he knew his niece well.
She embraced the Irish side of her roots as well as the Italian and would give the Irish blessing on St. Patrick’s Day, he said.
Rintala was a certified paramedic and worked on an ambulance at American Medical Response of Western Massachusetts. She also had taken classes at a several local colleges.
“She was always interested in the medical field. She always said she just wanted to help people,” Martin said.
She was outgoing and would be the first one to grab a microphone at a party, he said. But, in keeping with her kind nature, Rintala would also seek out people who may not know anyone to make sure they were comfortable and having fun.
This summer friends organized an event in her memory and to raise money to help her 3-year-old daughter Brianna. They also set up a memorial Facebook page for the cause with 488 supporters that follows the “Live, Laugh, Love” theme, Martin said.
Currently, his family has no contact with Cara Rintala or the couple’s young daughter, Martin said, but they hope to see the child in the future. Rintala, a Ludlow firefighter, sold the couple’s house on Barton Road about six months after the murder.
“When we can see her again, we want to make sure Brianna will be wanting for nothing,” Martin said.