The Case of Andrew Krivak

📻 Episode #591
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Sep 17, 2026

◆ EPISODE PROFILE

About This Episode

This special edition of Wrongful Conviction Behind Bars was recorded inside of Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison in Buffalo, NY with Andrew Krivak, and his attorney Professor Adele Bernhard in 2017.

The Case

Andy’s case concerns the murder of Josette Wright, whose body was found in November 1995 in a wooded area of Putnam County, NY with her hands and feet hog-tied behind her back and her underwear shoved down her throat. A few weeks later, detectives from the sheriff’s office picked up an unsuspecting teenager on drug charges, and managed to coerce him into pointing the finger at a group of his friends, including Anthony DiPippo and Andy Krivak. That same sheriff’s office used a since-discredited polygraph expert to get a false confession out of Andy, which along with a coerced witness statement, ultimately led to 25 to life sentences for both Andy and Anthony.

Since the taping of this episode, Andy’s conviction was vacated, and in October 2020, he was released on bail. Jason was there to welcome him back to the free world. The Deskovic Foundation helped bring on additional legal counsel, the legendary Oscar Michelen and Karen Neuwirth, to represent Andy at his 2023 retrial. The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty. Andy was finally exonerated, after 24 years in prison. In 2024, Putnam County paid him a $20 million settlement.

To hear more about Andy’s incredible case, tune into Season 5 of Bone Valley, titled “The Devil’s Quarry.” Paul Solotaroff tells the story of Andy’s co-defendant Anthony DiPippo and the crime that landed both Andy and Anthony wrongfully in prison.

A second installment of the Devil’s Quarry is coming soon — it investigates another case in the same town with eerie links to Andy Krivak’s story. Look out for the first episode on September 30th, you won’t want to miss it.

We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.

In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts

Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.

00:07:49
“Speaker 6: I've gathered, unless I'm missing something, they figured she'd come back. Speaker 6: They figured she was a runaway. They didn't really take Speaker 6: it very seriously. They logged a couple of calls. People Speaker 6: reported seeing her later on in the malls. But I Speaker 6: guess they thought, well, easy come, easy go. She'll be back.”

00:30:50
“Speaker 7: And then defend it. I mean, it's like they're defending Speaker 7: something that's been disproven already and leaving out the guy Speaker 7: who is so clearly should be under extreme scrutiny for Speaker 7: this crime and should be being questioned and should be Speaker 7: held accountable. He should be held accountable. I mean, this”

00:52:27
“Speaker 7: or something, which I found so far-fetched. Speaker 6: Well, the police said that they had found jewelry belonging Speaker 6: to the victim, Josette, in this van. which we know Speaker 6: that even if they had committed the crime, they couldn't Speaker 6: have committed it in this van. But anyway, they said”

Listen to the Episode

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← #590 Jens Soering #592 Anthony DiPippo →

Also on the podcast: #33 Andrew Krivak · #289 Andrew Royer