York County court halts release of man awaiting retrial in wife's death

YORK, Pa. - An appeals court has halted the release of a man awaiting a new trial on charges of having killed his wife and then faking an all-terrain vehicle accident to cover up the slaying a decade ago.Local media report that a York County judge last week had cleared the way for the release of 49-year-old Joe Fitzpatrick III of Chanceford Township.

He's accused of having drowned 43-year-old Annemarie Fitzpatrick in a creek in June 2012 and then telling police they crashed their ATV in the water.The judge cited a state constitutional provision saying bail should be allowed except in first-degree murder or mandatory life term cases, and said details of the trial and Fitzpatrick's lack of a significant criminal record made bail a viable option.

The length of his pretrial detention also opened the question of whether he was entitled to legal release on nominal bail, which would be $1.But the Pennsylvania Superior Court has temporarily stayed the decision as it reviews the emergency petition.Fitzpatrick was initially convicted of first- and third-degree murder as well as involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last year ordered a new trial, saying Fitzpatrick III might not have been convicted without the admission into evidence of a note from his wife which the court called inadmissible hearsay that injected "significant prejudice" into the trial.Authorities alleged that Fitzpatrick wanted out of his marriage, was emotionally involved with another woman and had a $1.7 million life insurance policy on his wife.