Jury Finds Kingston Dentist Not Guilty of Murder

DRC congratulates its clients Gerald Shargel, Evan Lipton, and the rest of the Winston & Strawn team on yesterday's acquittal of Dr. Gilberto Nunez.

Nunez, 49, was accused of fatally poisoning his lover's husband, Thomas Kolman, 44, with the dental sedative midazolam on November 29, 2011. Prosecutors argued that Nunez, who was in the midst of an 11-month affair with Kolman's wife, wanted Kolman out of the picture. The evidence against Nunez included the discovery of two vials of midazolam in his emergency medical kit and use of a disposable "burner" phone, which the prosecution argued he used to send anonymous text messages trying to break up the Kolmans.

Prosecutors also relied on video evidence of a white SUV resembling Nunez's driving past the parking lot where Kolman's body was discovered, shortly before it was found. A prosecution expert testified that the white SUV seen in the video was Nunez's, based on the "headlight pattern" cast by the vehicle.

"[E]ven if it was his car, there wasn't enough evidence for murder," concluded juror Cody Flickenschild.

The trial began May 25 and ended June 13. The jury deliberated for about an hour-and-a-half Monday and again for a short time Tuesday, before rendering its verdict.

Nunez was convicted of two counts of possessing a forged instrument for falsely representing that he was a member of the CIA. However, the jury rejected the prosecution's contention that Nunez murdered Kolman.

"We just didn't feel there was enough evidence," juror Fran Kwak said after deliberations concluded on Tuesday. "Not for the charge [of murder]. There [were] too many holes in the chain to knowingly convict for that one charge."

DRC assisted Winston & Strawn with jury selection, trial strategy and demonstrative aids.