In a stunning new development, defense lawyers for Werner Kunkel have filed a petition seeking to have his 1986 murder conviction dismissed, claiming that prosecutors deliberately suppressed crucial evidence that could prove his innocence. Kunkel was convicted in 1995 for the murder of Gilbert Fassett, whose body was found on Ski Jump Hill near Spirit Lake Nation, North Dakota.
The defense argues that new witness statements and forensic evidence directly contradict the prosecution’s timeline. Witnesses had reportedly seen Fassett alive after the date prosecutors claim he was murdered. Additionally, forensic pathologists have found that Fassett did not have alcohol in his system at the time of his death, challenging the state’s theory that Fassett was highly intoxicated when he died.
Furthermore, defense lawyers contend that the prosecution allowed critical crime scene evidence—like a bloody shirt—to be lost or destroyed, depriving Kunkel of the chance for a fair trial. The suppression of this evidence, they argue, violates the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case, Brady v. Maryland, which requires prosecutors to disclose all exculpatory evidence to the defense.
This case, once considered closed, now teeters on the edge of doubt, with new evidence raising serious questions about the integrity of the original conviction.
