Missing Brain Tumor Records Delay Murder Trial

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On June 24, the defense requested a postponement of a murder trial after the defendant informed his attorney that there was medical evidence needed to argue his case.

George Kuhn, 45, is charged with first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony violent crime, and firearm possession with a felony conviction for allegedly killing his fiancee, 36-year-old Kristy Helmert in 2022.

According to defense attorney Natalie Finegar, Kuhn told her that she did not have all of his medical records and there was evidence showing that a benign brain tumor he’s had for 15 years may have caused memory lapses.

Finegar argued to Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Kendra Y. Ausby that this case has been going on for two years and has been passed to many defense attorneys, and she is simply trying to “clean up” the evidence so that the trial can occur.

Judge Ausby was critical stating that she had contacted medical experts three weeks ago, but did not submit a request for records, which necessitated Monday’s postponement.

The prosecutor had no objections to the postponement and stated that even if Finegar had brought in medical experts to testify, the prosecution team would have requested a postponement anyway, as they would need to find their own experts.

Finegar stated that medical experts would need one to two months in order to evaluate the defendant, as well as more time to find the third piece of evidence that would show that there may be symptoms, such as memory loss, that could have impacted Kuhn’s knowledge of his actions.

In front of Judge Melissa K. Copeland, Finegar stated that she would not be able to ethically argue that Kuhn is not criminally responsible for this murder unless she had all the medical evidence present.

The date for the new trial is Oct. 28, however Judge Copeland suspected that the trial date may be moved up if the evidence is found earlier.

Per previous reporting, Kuhn informed Judge Melissa M. Phinn of his brain tumor, as well as a concussion he had received from an assault before the incident on June 12, 2022.