Man sentenced to life after retrial conviction in 2012 murder of woman found in burning home

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HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the second time following his conviction in a retrial in the death of a woman whose body was found inside her burning home in New Jersey almost a dozen years ago.

A Bergen County judge imposed the term Friday on 49-year-old Daniel Rochat in the September 2012 death of 70-year-old Barbara Vernieri, NorthJersey.com reported. The East Rutherford real estate agent was found beaten and set on fire while she was still alive in her home, authorities said.

Rochat's first conviction was overturned in 2022 by an appellate court that ruled that DNA evidence used to connect him to the crime was unreliable. He was tried again this year and convicted in April of murder, arson, felony murder, desecration, hindering and false swearing.

Judge Christopher Kazlau sentenced Rochat on Friday to life in prison, which the state presumes to be 75 years with a requirement that 85% of that sentence be served before a defendant can be eligible for parole. Rochat was also sentenced to 10 years each on the arson and desecration convictions and lesser terms on the other counts.

Kazlau called the murder “brutal and senseless” and cited what he called the defendant's complete lack of remorse, calling his tone and demeanor during police interviews “striking.”

Rochat proclaimed his innocence in court, arguing that justice hadn't been served because “the person who did this brutal murder has eluded justice.” One of his attorneys, Eric Feinberg, argued that his client has “lost out on the best years of his life” after a dozen years behind bars, and the defense unsuccessfully sought a new trial.

Rochat's mother, Janet, told the court that her son had a “warm and loving relationship” with Vernieri and she believed law enforcement misinterpreted his visit to the home days before she was killed. Prosecutors had suggested that he had intended to rob the victim to pay back $11,000 he owed to an ex-girlfriend who had just ended their relationship.