Trial in murder of Kansas City lawyer to resume after COVID, questions about defendant

The criminal trial of David G. Jungerman will resume Wednesday morning after a Jackson County judge declared that the 84-year-old millionaire accused in the shooting death of a Brookside attorney is mentally competent to stand trial.

During a 90-minute hearing Tuesday, defense attorneys argued that Jungerman was cognitively impaired and unable to testify on his behalf or assist in his defense. Jurors were not present during the hearing.

The criminal trial, which began last week, has been delayed since Friday due to a possible COVID exposure. A court official would not identify who had the exposure. During the delay, defense attorney Daniel Ross requested Jungerman undergo a mental health evaluation.

Jungerman, who is accused of killing lawyer Tom Pickert on Oct. 25, 2017, showed signs of mental lapses and could not remember the names of his criminal attorneys representing him, Ross said.

Lisa Witcher, a forensic psychologist, testified Tuesday that she examined Jungerman at defense attorneys’ request and found he suffered from a neurocognitive disorder and performed poorly on several tests.

Ross asked that the trial be further delayed to allow an independent neurologist to evaluate Jungerman.

But Tim Dollar, an attorney working on behalf of the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office, said prosecutors used William Blessing, a neuropsychologist, to examine Jungerman. Blessing found Jungerman was mentally competent, Dollar said.

In making his ruling, Circuit Court Judge John M. Torrence noted Jungerman’s age and that he has been in custody for almost five years.

“I think it goes without saying that’s going to have an impact on a person of his age and I think we’re seeing that,” Torrence said. “I think based upon everything I’ve heard and read that there’s not any substantial evidence of neurocognitive disorder that would promote the idea that the defendant is unable to assist in his defense or understand the legal proceedings.”

Jungerman faces first-degree murder and armed criminal action charges in the killing of Pickert, 39, who was gunned in the front yard of his Brookside home moments after walking his sons to school.

Pickert, a personal injury attorney, had recently won a $5.75 million judgment for a homeless man who Jungerman shot in 2012 because he thought the man was stealing copper from the property of Jungerman’s baby furniture business.

Jungerman emerged as a suspect within hours of the shooting because of his connection to Pickert. Yet the killing went unsolved for months. Kansas City police said at one point that Jungerman, who was the focus of media scrutiny, was not a suspect in the deadly shooting.

A week before the shooting, Jackson County court officials had started the process of seizing Jungerman’s real estate to pay the $5.75 million judgment.

Earlier in the criminal trial, Pickert’s widow, Emily Riegel, testified that she was preparing for work on the morning of the shooting when she heard gunfire.

Riegel said she raced outside and found her husband sprawled on the sidewalk in front of their home, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. She saw a white van with a driver inside pulling a black mask or hood over his face and driving away.

After the shooting, Riegel told investigators that her husband had won a multi-million dollar verdict against Jungerman.

Defense attorneys are expected to present their evidence and call witnesses beginning Wednesday.