A judge has ordered the release of a 40-year-old man twice convicted in the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl in Putnam County.
Anthony DiPippo was released from Putnam County Jail on $1 million bail Wednesday as he awaits his third trial in the 1994 killing of Josette Wright. The bail was secured by his family and posted by high-profile bondsman Ira Judelson.
DiPippo was found guilty of murdering and raping the girl in two separate trials, and higher courts have overturned the convictions each time. He has maintained his innocence in the child's murder.
He will now remain under his house arrest at his family's home with a monitoring bracelet until the next trial.
Wright's family was in court Wednesday and clearly upset. They believe DiPippo is guilty and hope he is convicted a third time.
DiPippo said he understood the family's feelings.
"It was a tragic thing," he said. "I couldn't imagine how bad it was for them all these years. I pray for them and hope they find some semblance of peace."
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Wright disappeared in early October 1994, and her remains were discovered in woods in Patterson more than 13 months later, The Journal News reports. DiPippo and his friend Andrew Krivak were charged in the case in July 1996.
Krivak was tried separately in 1997 and convicted, and is currently serving a 25-years to life sentence.
