Rideout ruling: All 4 defendants to be tried together

A judge Wednesday ruled that all four defendants accused of the murder of Craig Rideout will be tried together at a trial starting Tuesday. 

Accused of second-degree murder in the killing of Craig Rideout are Rideout's wife, Laura Rideout; her boyfriend, Paul Tucci; and two sons whom Laura and Craig Rideout had together, Colin and Alexander Rideout. 

The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection Tuesday. State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Moran said he expects the trial to last six weeks.

Moran ruled Wednesday that the four can be tried together. He also decided that some statements made by the brothers at Mendon Ponds Park, where prosecutors allege the two were destroying evidence, will not be allowed at trial.

Matthew Parrinello, the lawyer for Colin Rideout, has made a new motion for a separate trial, but said he doubts Moran will grant the request.

Parrinello and attorney Michael Schiano, the attorney for Laura Rideout, said there is a fear that the evidence against one defendant could taint the jury's impression of another.

"It's the spill-over that we're worried about," Schiano said.

Craig Rideout, 50, disappeared in July; his corpse was found July 20 in a wooded area of Yates County, wrapped in a tarp. His face was disfigured; apparently whoever killed him tried to obscure his identity by dumping a corrosive liquid on his face.

RIDEOUT CASE: Complete coverage

Colin and Alexander Rideout were arrested at Mendon Ponds Park on July 21, allegedly disposing of items that investigators say could have been used in the homicide of their father. 

Tucci and Laura Rideout were arrested separately from Colin and Alexander Rideout. Authorities allege that the couple bought materials at a Walmart — a tarp, bungee cords, and sulfuric acid — that were possibly used to mar Rideout's face and dispose of his body.

At the park on July 21, deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office placed the brothers in separate cars and questioned them. Prosecutors contended that the brothers were not then detained, but Moran ruled otherwise, saying Colin and Alexander then should have been informed of their rights.

Prosecutors in court papers said that Colin did say at the park that on July 20 his mother asked him to go to the house where his father had been living. At the house, Colin Rideout  allegedly said, he found his mother and Alexander and another sibling, who was not charged, "cleaning up blood."

"Colin Rideout also said that he helped clean up blood and that he was at the park to throw out bags containing items with blood from his father's house," prosecutors said in court papers.

While those alleged statements will not be allowed at trial, Moran did allow all physical evidence to be used as proof against the four.

GCRAIG@Gannett.com