Updated at 6:20 p.m.
BURLINGTON — A Burlington man accused of killing his wife and seriously injuring her mother in a meat cleaver attack more than five years ago has been found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury.
The 12 jurors returned their verdict in the case against Aita Guring on Thursday afternoon after about 24 hours of deliberations over four days at Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington.
The nearly four-week trial pitted expert witnesses who testified on whether Gurung was legally insane — and therefore not criminally liable — at the time of the crimes.
The trial also tested the limits of discretion of a county’s top prosecutor. Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George’s decision to drop charges against Gurung was challenged by Gov. Phil Scott, prompting the attorney general’s office to refile the charges.
George had argued she could not overcome an insanity defense because the state’s own expert had determined Gurung to be insane at the time of the killing.
Gurung, 39, faced a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his 32-year-old wife, Yogeswari Khadka, at their home in Burlington on Oct. 12, 2017. Jurors could have also considered a charge of second-degree murder. According to charging documents and prosecutors, Gurung, fueled by anger, killed his wife when she wouldn’t get him a beer.
Gurung was also found guilty on a charge of attempted second-degree murder for seriously injuring his mother-in-law, 54-year-old Thulsa Rimal, in the same attack.
Gurung, who is Bhutanese, wore headphones throughout the trial as he listened to Nepali interpreters translate the proceedings. He wore a facemask — a requirement in the courtroom due to Covid-19 — making it difficult to see his reaction to the verdict as he stood at the defense table alongside his two attorneys.
Assistant Attorney General Rose Kennedy, who prosecuted the case with fellow Assistant Attorney General Sophie Stratton, said after the verdict that the case was about the victims, Khadka and Rimal.
“We felt that their story was lacking from the beginning of this case,” Kennedy said. “We were just really pleased to be able to put that in front of the jury and let them sort of learn about these brave, courageous women.”
Kennedy described Khadka as “a very young, beautiful woman who wanted a better life for her daughter.” Rimal, the prosecutor said, was a “woman willing to sacrifice her own life for her daughter’s life.”
Attorney Sandra Lee, who represented Gurung along with attorney William David Kidney, said she met with her client shortly after the verdict was read.
“Mr. Gurung trusts the judicial system,” Lee said, at times speaking through tears. “He also knows that he was not well, his mind was not working, and that he would have never done this had his mind been working well.”
Following the verdict, Kennedy asked Judge John Pacht to transfer Gurung to the custody of the state Department of Corrections. Gurung has been at the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin, a secure facility where he had been held for most of the time the case was pending.
Pacht denied the prosecution’s request, instead calling for a hearing to be held within a week to consider that matter. Gurung will continue to be held at the Berlin facility until then.
The judge said given the emotions that came with the verdict, it seemed best to allow Gurung to remain at a facility dedicated to providing psychiatric care.
A sentencing date was not immediately set. Gurung faces 35 years to life in prison on the first-degree murder conviction alone.
During the trial, the prosecution told the jury that Gurung had a history of abusing alcohol and physically assaulting his wife, including previously attempting to strangle her.
The defense countered that Gurung was not guilty by reason of insanity, having been released from the University of Vermont Medical Center less than two hours before carrying out the attack.
Gurung, according to his attorney, had spent five days leading up to the attacks at the medical facility because “he knew his mind was not working,” and he was not able to communicate clearly because of a “severe psychotic disorder.”
The defense relied on a series of experts who backed up their contention, including Dr. David Rosmarin, a forensic psychiatrist.
“He was being controlled by the voices,” Rosmarin testified. “And at the time of killing, his free will was overwhelmed by the voices.”
The prosecution called on Dr. Catherine Lewis, also a forensic psychiatrist, to rebut the defense’s insanity claim. Lewis, who did not examine Gurung in person but reviewed medical records, case documents, police videos and other evidence, testified that she believed Gurung “appreciated the criminality” of his actions.
Jurors heard closing arguments in the case Friday and began deliberating Monday morning after Pacht provided them with instructions.
To prove insanity, the defense needed to establish that a preponderance of the evidence showed that he suffered from a “mental disease or defect” at the time of the attack, according to Vermont law.
“A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he or she lacks adequate capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his or her conduct or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of law,” the state statute reads.
Gurung’s case had been thrown out in 2019 by George, the Chittenden County State’s Attorney, who argued that she could not rebut an insanity defense based on expert opinions at that time.
Scott called on then-Attorney General TJ Donovan to review the case. Donovan then refiled the charges against Gurung, taking the unusual step of reversing a state’s attorney’s decision.
When the charges were refiled against her client, Lee called it a political move. Speaking with the media after the verdict, Lee reiterated that claim, pointing to several witnesses’ testimony regarding her clients’ mental state during the attack.
The defense attorney also said it was difficult to prevail with an insanity defense before a jury under Vermont law.
“It’s disappointing,” she said of the verdict, “(but) it’s understandable given our current way of dealing with the legal test of insanity in the state of Vermont.”
Lee said she hoped lawmakers would look at better ways of dealing with cases involving severe mental health issues.
Both Scott and Attorney General Susanne Young issued statements praising the verdict and offering sympathy for the victims.
“The primary responsibility of any government is public safety,” the governor said. “And that means we cannot allow violent criminals to potentially walk free. This case — and the victims — deserved their day in court. Justice was served.”
Young spoke of the gravity of the charges and the importance of allowing a jury to hear the evidence.
“Murder is the most serious charge that can be brought in our system of justice,” Young said in the statement. “The Attorney General’s Office has always believed that this matter — the tragic death of Yogeswari Khadka and the near-fatal attack on Tulasa Rimal — deserved to be heard in a court of law and required a response from our justice system.”
George, in an email, said she was in meetings Thursday and would not be available for comment.
