Gerling murder case begins with pretrial motions
UTICA, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — The trial of the man accused of murdering a Utica City School District principal last summer began in earnest on Friday with pretrial hearings.
Lawyers for Jeremy Kirch and District Attorney Todd Carville stood before Judge Robert Bauer on Friday, May 23 to be heard on several motions. While Judge Bauer did deny the suppression of several pieces of evidence, several hearings were granted to determine the validity of certain pieces of evidence.
Kirch was arrested in August of 2024 and was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend — Elizabeth Gerling, a former principal at Columbus Elementary in Utica. Kirch was found in the city of Rome soon after her death and subsequently arrested.
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Bauer granted a motion for a Sandoval-Ventimiglia hearing, which will determine if behavioral evidence can be used in the trial. A mental evaluation — to determine Kirch's fitness to stand trial — was conducted, but Carville said that evaluation is under review.
Bauer denied a motion to suppress statements Kirch made to law enforcement. Bauer did grant a Huntley Hearing to determine if the statements being used by the prosecution were voluntary or not.
Bauer also denied motions to suppress other evidence, including identifying testimony and physical evidence. However, hearings have been granted to determine the admissibility of both the testimony and evidence.
A Mapp-Dunaway Hearing was granted to assess the circumstances of Kirch's arrest. It will also be used to assess the seizure of Kirch's trailer and truck, which were impounded for the reasons of executing the search warrant.
Bauer granted the other following motions:
To have the court review search warrants for Kirch's truck, trailer home and phone, as well as the defendant's blood, and
A review of the grand jury minutes to assess the sufficiency of the legal instructions given.
Bauer denied the following motions:
Search warrants to Blink and Ring cameras at Gerling's home
A change of venue, citing that the defense had not proven a reasonable cause of unfair or impartial ruling. However, Bauer said, if circumstances change, that ruling can be reconsidered.
Directing the prosecution to supply defense with an electronic copy of all of their evidence.
The case is scheduled to reconvene on Thursday, July 17 at 10:30 AM for suppression hearings.
Also up for discussion during the suppression hearings will be a claim by the defense that Kirch did not know his calls from the jail were being recorded. After the suppression hearings, both sides will discuss going to trial.
You can look at the full hearing from Eyewitness News Reporter Kayla Bruce below:
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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