And who'd be heartless enough to kill an infant as well? The police considered the possibility that Joann ran away, a theory disputed by her family. His favorite rattle, shaped like a phone, lay near the crime scene. Please walk thru her website and see for yourself how easy it is to be convicted of something you had nothing to do with. Keith Morrison investigates the horrific murders of Joann Katrinak and her infant son Alex, and the ongoing claims that Patricia Rorrer, the woman who has already served 19 years in prison for the murders, was wrongfully convicted. In June of 2016 Patricia Rorrer's petition for a new trial was been thrown out. No comments yet - start the conversation above. If Rorrer used to live in the area, then I expect any place in the county was probably within a couple of miles of someplace she used to have access to. Mizgerd said she acts as Patricia Rorrer's spiritual advisor and often visits her in prison. I would really recommend watching the Wrong Man 2-part episode. . Rorrer claims the DNA evidence used to send . The FBI waiting up to 6 months to question people in the class makes it near impossible for her to prove that she was actually there on a random Thursday night. The second is Patricia Rorrer, who has been in prison since 1998 after being convicted of the horrific murder of a young mother, Joann Katrinak, and her 15-week old son in Catasauqua, Pennsylvania. Today, Patricia Lynne Rorrer resides in State Correctional Institute at Muncy, a medium and maximum security facility that has the highest rate of cancer of all prisons in Pennsylvania, according to a story from northcentralpa.com. Still, no good leads materialized. Probable cause of death: exposure. Aside from the hair, there was almost zero forensic evidence. Her husband Andrew's mother expected Joann to arrive quickly, since they only lived a few minutes away. She had money put aside. I know that if I get a fair trial, I will win and be freed. As for an epilogue on ex-flame Andrew Katrinak, he has moved to Colorado and kept a low profile since the trial ended. In 2015, an outside source, through a freedom of information act request, received an FBI . Tragedy also touched Patricias life. On December 7, 1994 I called Andy to let him know that me and my team had won the National Championship at a team penning competition in Oklahoma. He recalls that Patty also had an alibi. No charmed life. His film Whitey: United States of America V. James J. Bulgeruncovered law enforcement corruption at the highest levels. Why was the jury never told that Patricia Rorrer was under surveillance in North Carolina at the time of the crime? Docket at pp. There is still an appeal coming up (I believe) but everything else has failed so far to get Patricia another trial. Police slowly built a case against Patricia. . . She failed miserably to convince me, or anyone else who mattered, of her innocence. Once, when a gun-wielding farmer and his buddy caught Patricia and Gary riding motorcycles on his field, Patricia walked up and got in their faces and argued, Gary recalled to the Morning Call. The Worldwide Womens Criminal Justice Networks website also points to a bombshell: In 2015, the Justice Department acknowledged that most of the team members from an FBI microscopic hair comparison unit gave prosecutors flawed data from 1980 to 2000 that could have unjustly contributed to a number convictions including Patricia Rorrers. Conflicting versions. She is a true crime writer who believed I was 100% guilty when she decided to write about my case. With 400 (and 6) episodes, this progress bar indicates my progress toward finishing all of them. Her defense was essentially that she and Andrew Katrinak had remained friendly, so she wouldn't want to hurt him. DNA testing revealed the blood came from either Joann or her son. That hang-up, they said, was the last straw. However, it seems this was only after the bodies of Joann and Alex were found on the remote horse trail. Barry Grube, one of the few, if not only, police officers sympathetic to Patricias cause, noted that Andrew didnt seem particularly frantic while authorities searched desperately for his wife and son. Because when she did, she quickly began to realize that there was a lot more to the story than the public ever knew. On December 15, 1994, Joann Katrinak and her three-month-old son Alex disappeared without a trace from their home in Catasauqua, Pa. Patricia Rorrer, the ex-girlfriend of Katrinak's husband, was convicted of the murders and has maintained her innocence for 20 years while serving life behind bars. She was thus sentenced to two life terms without the possibility of parole, plus an added 10-20 years for the kidnapping charges, to be served consecutively. Patricia was convicted based on her head hairs being found in the victim's car. Later, they both worked 12-hour graveyard shifts at a textile factory. The police report misspells his name (Troutman) and doesnt include his address, suggesting authorities didnt want anyone to track him down, according to Patricias side. And, I was quite angry with the police, that they accused Andy. Crime 2017. 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. Joann had been shot in the face and badly beaten. At the states request, the instructor wore a wire during a phone conversation with Patricia. But Patricia had moved from Pennsylvania years ago, and she'd started her own family in North Carolina. 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. As for the words exchanged on the call between the two big-haired women, Joann told Andrew that Patricia had used profanity; Patricia said it was the other way around. Illustration of the location of mitochondrial DNA in human cells. It was a pretty big deal, and i was excited enough to call everyone I knew. And dance instructor William Jarrett couldnt remember whether she attended his dance class at the club the night of Joanns disappearance. Patricia Rorrer is serving a life sentence, convicted of driving 500 miles to kill her ex-boyfriend's new wife and his baby. Startling new allegations surround one of Lehigh County's most notorious murder cases. According to the LA Times, the United States Supreme Court struck down the conviction of death row inmate Curtis Flowers, who was prosecuted six times for the same crime of quadruple murder, and by the same prosecutor, in a case riddled with evidentiary problems and allegations of racial bias, according to the press statement. 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. Search is on. The episode indicated that Andrew Katrinak informed police that Patricia Rorrer had made the phone call to his home three days before Joann's disappearance. It will show you that I have not committed these murders. This is for them also and freeing an innocent woman! They released a poster of Joann and Alex, noting that the baby had "almond-shaped blue eyes," weighed 18 . Patricia Lynne Rorrer made for a good suspect. (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. The jury found Patricia guilty in just 6 hours in 1998, 4 years after the crime. She was also accused of breaking into barns, stealing horses, and underfeeding the ones she owned. In March of 1998, a jury returned two guilty verdicts against Patricia Rorrer for murder, and two more for kidnapping. McItyre said this is hearsay and the officer has refuted everything in an affidavit. I can't recall if the long distance calls were talked about in the show. Another case is Patricia Rorrer, who has been in prison since 1998, convicted of the murder of a young mother and her 16-week old son in Pennsylvania. Based on the activity, the victims were there since at least February. Previously on Wrong Man, we learned about the murder of Joann Katrinak and her baby.Were they murdered because Joann angrily hung the phone up on Patty Rorrer, the ex of Andy Katrinak? Pal stays true. Friends and family began looking for Joann and Alex. "I'm hoping this [show] will be very close to the truth," said Sandy Mizgerd. He framed this woman who has been in prison 23 years! Those who knew Joann pointed out that she didnt like to drive in reverse and would have never parked that way. They returned with a guilty verdict and a sentence of two life terms. This was part of Rorrer's defense strategy it seemed like an unrealistic motive to commit murder. Rorrer offered her attendance at a private club in North Carolina as one of her alibies, but the club (per a state regulation) required members to sign in. And the kidnapping scenario became more plausible when you factor in the privacy of the alleyway behind the Katrinak house. Lieutenant Christopher Coble and Sergeant Suzanne Pearson would later testify that Patricia cried and apologized to 18-month-old Nicole, telling the baby, Im sorry for doing this to you and lamenting to the officers that she would never see little Nicole again. TV-14. Andrew had an ex-girlfriend, Patricia Rorrer, who'd been familiar with the trail, and she'd previously managed a horse stable just a mile from the scene. Thats all for this post. The system is broken sending innocent people to prison! When O'Reilly started doing the research, she believed Patricia (Patty) had been . Its proximity to the stable she'd managed made an undeniable association to her. Her friends say she was railroaded by the system and they want Chris and Fatima to join their fight to free her. In 1995 DNA testing was brand new. He said that the gun had an unusual characteristic: the gun would jam after firing one shot. Since then, Patricia has appealed her case and fought for exoneration, only to always be denied. Patricia L. Rorrer was taken into custody from the Linwood home she shared with her boyfriend and 1-year-old daughter on June 24, 1997. Patricia was arrested on June 24, 1997. . Rorrer is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution Muncy, a prison for women in Clinton Township, Pennsylvania. By the mid-1990s, Patricia was known for being both warm and caring as well as aggressive and loud. Criminals aren't always the smartest folks - this area highlights the common (and reoccurring) mistakes they make. An expert will be allowed to examine evidence from the 1994 . Rorrer was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Joann Katrinak and her 3-4 month old son Alex in 1994 by forcing them our of their home and driving them to a wooded area where they were shot and killed. She claimed to have been home during this period how did her defense team justify such a departure from Patricia's norm? ), And in another bombshell, Joanns good friend Karen Devine said Joann planned to leave Andrew after the holidays. But if Rorrer was a genuine suspect, it's likely investigators would have attempted the mitochondrial DNA match on the hair anyway. She said that shes no fan of Forensic Files and that the show had many misrepresentations about her case and that shed heard ForensicFilesNow.com mixed up some facts as well. But defense lawyer Robert Pfeiffer said that plenty of evidence supported Patricias innocence. 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. Advocates for her innocence complain of hype surrounding the case. Why would somebody tell you, theyre going to fry me, if they didnt do it? Jarrett told Wrong Man. Rorrer claims the DNA . ", "An unusual feature about the gun, he [Rorrers ex-boyfriend] stated was the fact that you fire one shot out of the gun, and the gun would jam. On Alexs diaper bag, police found strands of the same type of hair from the car. Innocent nonprofit Wrongful Conviction. The victim in this crime had a hair clutched in her right hand, and three pieces of fingernail found on her body, none of which has ever been tested. [1] The mitochondria, and thus mitochondrial DNA, are passed exclusively from mother to offspring through the egg cell. Prosecutors said Rorrer beat Katrinak, shot her and left her and her baby for dead in the woods in Heidelberg Township. ", "I think she gave us something like four or five alibis as to where she was at. He said she did own a firearm, with its serial numbers filed off. Joann was shot once, then the gun jammed. Sad discovery. My husband passed away of a broken heart, Sarah OConnor said on the Montel Williams Show in 2001. Patricia was wrongfully convicted and we will show you how! And their phone line had been cut someone had not wanted the Katrinaks to be able to call for help. Then, despite her multiple alibis, she has an inexplicable five-day gap in this pattern. My kid has had 99th percentile head circumference since birth. If you subscribe to Hulu and upgrade to Starz (theres a free one-week trial offer), you can stream the Wrong Man episodes about Patricia Rorrer. Wow this episode was featured on Forensic Files. How would an intruder find it? But if that's the main evidence against her, it seems awfully weak. In his dissenting opinion, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged the case might not have even been heard by the Supreme Court had it not been for the media that reinvestigated it. Patricia knew her gun tended to jam, but she used it anyway. The prosecution alleged that after the murder, Patricia drove Joanns car to McCartys parking lot and backed it into a parking space. He gave an audio interview to the Wrong Man investigators when they made a surprise visit to his house, but he declined to appear on camera. At 17, Patricia dropped out of high school and married landscaper Gary Gabard. Nailed? Since then our team has proven that Patricia is innocent. So now, lets find out everything there is to know about her, shall we? The second season will continue to uncover new theories and reveal startling new evidence that could prove that three new inmates are, in fact, not guilty, according to Starzs press statement. 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. Also she worked as a realtor so it's not that unreasonable for her to know which line to cut. Its definitely getting rougher every day, Andrew told the Morning Call. It's really terrifying that that was regarded as damning evidence, especially now that the rest of the case that might have appeared to give it context has been so undermined. New state, new man. We affirm. I wasn't hung up on Andy, and I didn't want him back. When it was only able to fire once, Rorrer had to resort to bludgeoning her victim. "When I read that petition for the first time about 30 days ago, I couldn't believe it was written by a lawyer.". Posted: June 22, 2022 Episode 204 of Starz' Wrong Man winds up its coverage of the Rorrer/Katrinak case, but it leaves us with far more questions than answers. Rorrer was convicted of killing them four years later. When I gave samples of my hair, the doctor took a total of 39 hairs, but only 35 can be accounted for. She was born on Jan. 24, 1964, in eastern Pennsylvania and moved back and forth between there and Davidson County, North Carolina. When she stood trial that same year, she maintained her innocence and alleged that she and Andrew Katrinak had continued to stay in touch as good friends, so she wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Despite the troubling evidence from Joann's car, detectives considered whether or not Joann had taken baby Alex and simply left. Forensic Files didnt mention it, but the hairs were actually brown at the top and the rest dyed blond, according to the show Autopsy Six: A Fatal Attraction. It seems strange that Patricia would just pick up and drive 500 miles to see and ex-boyfriend from years ago on a whim, leaving her own one-year-old daughter at home in North Carolina. As is the alibi (signing into a dance class), one regular at the dance club said the sign-in sheet was not regularly used by many patrons. Recall Jason Funk's role in Katie Froeschle's murder in Muffled Cries (s11e31) or the trail of evidence left by Earl Bramblett in Private Thoughts (s08e16). Her hair color in the picture matched hairs found at two of the crime scenes. Patricias defenders also say Andrew Katrinak staged the scene at his house by prying the door and cutting the phone line. Here was some other evidence mentioned in the Forensic Files episode: A forensic entomologist examined insect activity on the victims. Patricia Rorrer's home phone record did not show her call to the Katrinak house three days prior to the kidnapping because she'd already made the trip to Pennsylvania to see Andrew. Book her. The first, Vonda Smith, was convicted of murdering her grandchilds mother, 21-year-old Jessie Morrison. Everyone needs to wake up because this could be you, your wife, your husband, your mother, your father, your children! Was this on unsolved mysteries too? They even lived together for about two years before parting ways for good. Season 1 had a tangible impact on all three cases that were examined. Supposedly it was the relationship to this trail and Patricia's managing of the Silver Shadow Farms horse stable just a mile away that first brought Rorrer to detectives' attention. July 16, 1932 - September 10, 2020, Dr. Edward E. "Gene" Rorrer, Sr. passed away on September 10, 2020 in Abingdon, Virg. In addition to the Facebook page, there are Reddit threads on her case. He would be alive today if it were not for Patricia Rorrer. The mild-mannered Sarah died in 2019 at the age of 83. She seemed like quite an unlikely suspect at least at first. Her alibi about going to the club, called Cowboys Nitelife, got fuzzy when investigators discovered she hadnt signed the guest book on that day. For two decades, Patricia Rorrer has always maintained her innocence. They moved into her house in Salisbury County, staying together for about two years. EPISODE 1. Hello guys! But "Wrong Man" investigators discover that there is . Her book tells the truth and the real story of this case. And even prosecutor Michael McIntyre, who wrote the book Hair Trigger about the case, acknowledged to Keith Morrison that it was a little odd that the police found blood on the hairs in Joanns car but nowhere else in the vehicle. Inside the locked 1992 vehicle, police discovered some strands of blond hair stained with dried blood. Shouldn't Andrew have mentioned this suspicious, out-of-the-blue phone call from his ex-girlfriend sooner? She was also no stranger to law enforcement because she had a history of violence which included an arrest for getting into a bar brawl with another patron over a guy. Lehigh Cty.) She did buy a .22 before. And why was my defense not provided with the "No Roots Attached" report which is exculpatory evidence, at trial.? Patricia was living back in North Carolina when the double murders occurred, yet investigators questioned her nonetheless. Combination locks. Brand New App to watch all of WFMZ-TV News and Syndicated Programing 24/7 on your Streaming App enabled TV. She was the devoted wife of the late Alvin Haymon Rorrer. (We didnt get into the specifics.). Most convictions were procured through microscopic hair comparison which has been debunked as junk science today. To really understand this case, you need to sit down and read this book called Convenient Suspect written by Tammy Mal. When Joann failed to arrive, her mother-in-law tried calling, but there was no answer at the Katrinak's. (Disclaimer: Im not a big fan of eyewitnesses who come forward years after the fact, but its possible). Joanne and Alex needs justice to! She is a tough one, Sheriff Gerald Hege would later tell the Morning Call in a June 29, 1997 interview. She had a lawyer who never tried a crimsoned case let alone a murder case, she believed that it would not be a problem because she was innocent. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/fbi-overstated-forensic-hair-matches-in-nearly-all-criminal-trials-for-decades/2015/04/18/39c8d8c6-e515-11e4-b510-962fcfabc310_story.html, https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/crimefeed/murder/convenient-suspect-a-wrongful-conviction-in-the-murder-in-lehigh-valley. These organelles, found in all eukaryotic cells, are the powerhouse of the cell. Decades-old Lehigh Valley murder case back in national spotlight, Stormcenter - School / Business Application. Back in March of 2017, Investigation Discovery ran Murder in Lehigh Valley: Keith Morrison Investigates which questioned the conviction of . Oscar-nominated and Emmywinning director Berlinger (Paradise Lost, Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes), a leading voice in non-fiction film and television for over two decades, returns to keep checks on the criminal justice system. At the trial, prosecutor Michael McIntyre alleged that Patricia remained obsessed with Andrew Katrinak long after their breakup despite testimony that shed had many boyfriends and live-in lovers to occupy her bandwidth. A photo at the time showed that Patricia had dyed her hair blonde, which matched the hair found. Prosecutors also claimed DNA hair evidence found in the car matched Patricia's hair at the time (using what was considered valid DNA methods). It's shocking to think that Patricia Rorrer, being a mother, could end the life of an infant. Patricias professional life included short-lived gigs as a Century 21 real estate agent and an Oldsmobile salesperson. To really understand this case, you need to sit down and read this book called Convenient Suspect written by Tammy Mal. Do any of the TV episodes suggest the possibility of their being held alive for some time? It is believed she may have received over 3,700 pills in less than a year. The phone wire was located at the opposite end of the basement, which was dark. 1 talking about this. Starz announces premiere date for Joe Berlinger's Wrong Man Season 2. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol. I suspect I know. Patricia Rorrer Age: 51 Sex: FEMALE Phone calls played a significant role in the case overall. My case in a nutshell is this: I was convicted on a DNA match made to the root of a hair found in the victim's car which was located 15 miles from the crime scene. MEMORANDUM BY BOWES, J.: FILED OCTOBER 26, 2017 Patricia Lynne Rorrer appeals the PCRA court's dismissal of her . Together they had a baby girl, Nicole. Until next time, cheers. They released a poster of Joann and Alex, noting that the baby had "almond-shaped blue eyes," weighed 18 . Our team of volunteers are committed to helping Patricia. When she stood trial that same year, she maintained her innocence and alleged that she and Andrew Katrinak had continued to stay in touch as good friends, so she wouldnt do anything to hurt him. For more on the Katrinak murder case, you can watch Autopsy Six: A Fatal Attraction for free on YouTube. Patricia Rorrer was a cold woman. I also communicated with Patricia via email to get her input on some matters. Yet, everything changed when they lost their 3-month-old son to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 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. Media galore. Testimony from Walter Blalock contradicted Patricias claim that she never had a gun. Somebody has to. This is the hard part. Apr 5, 2016. Two of the seasons three cases will feature female inmates. Patricias accusers theorized that she resented Joanns domestic bliss with the tall, athletic Andrew Katrinak. Part 1. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. The state of the bodies suggested the victims had likely been killed the day very they were abducted. Rorrer has appealed her conviction several times and her supporters believe additional DNA evidence . Family members found Joanns tan Toyota sitting vacant in the parking lot of McCartys, a nearby bar. The victim in this crime had a hair clutched in her right hand, and three pieces of fingernail found on her body, none of which has ever been tested. After watching the latest Starz episode of Wrong Man (a great investigative show), I started thinking about the Patricia Rorrer case again.. Rorrer was convicted of kidnapping and murdering Joann Katrinak and her 3-4 month old son Alex in 1994 by forcing them our of their home and driving them to a wooded area where they were shot and killed. Witness also recalled Rorrer's mom trying to hide a gun. Rorrer was tried and convicted in 1994 for the brutal killing of Katrinak and her three-month-old son. McIntyre said a conspiracy theory is preposterous and he's surprised Rorrer is making another attempt to get out of prison. Strands of the accuseds dyed-blond hair at two crime scenes proved it. So, this pointed to a theory that Joann had either left on her own or encountered foul play within her home. See Commonwealth v. Rorrer, CP-39- CR-0002176-1997 (C.C.P. Despite the new evidence and hypotheses, the courts have rejected all of Patricias bids for a new trial. PATRICIA LYNNE RORRER Appellant No. Patricia seemed like the girl next door but all of a sudden, something snapped, Katrinak later told Wrong Man investigators. More than 20 years after her conviction, Patricia Rorrer still has advocates working to exonerate her. And the fact that Patricia called Andrew even after he married someone else didnt mean she was still carrying a torch for him, according to one of her friends. Her mother, Patricia Chambers, provided day care for their baby son, Charles. Meanwhile, the case of the missing mother and baby turned into colossal news across the U.S. and internationally.
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