US Murder Conviction Quashed, German Faces Deportation

A North Dakota man whose murder conviction was overturned is facing removal proceedings after his release from state custody, as state and federal courts continue to dispute what happens next.

Werner Kunkel, 65, was convicted in 1995 of the 1986 killing of Gilbert Fassett. Prosecutors said Fassett’s body was stabbed more than 100 times, and the court sentenced Kunkel to life in prison.

Conviction Set Aside in February

In February, a state district judge vacated Kunkel’s conviction and ordered a new trial after attorneys argued that prosecutors failed to disclose evidence that could support his innocence. The Great North Innocence Project led the challenge.

Kunkel had already spent more than 30 years behind bars under the life sentence that has now been removed. Although the ruling required a retrial, it did not lead to his immediate freedom.

Taken Into Federal Custody After Release

Last month, a district court ordered Kunkel’s release from state prison. Hours later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into federal custody.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to ABC News that Kunkel has multiple convictions, including forgery and assault on a peace officer, along with other crimes. ICE is now seeking a removal order against him.

Kunkel was born in Germany but came to the United States at age seven with his mother. He never became a citizen, has not returned to Germany, does not speak German and has no known ties there. ICE originally sought a removal order against him in 1999, based on the murder conviction that has since been vacated. A previous removal order obtained in 2011 did not result in deportation.

A federal immigration judge recently heard Kunkel’s case and is expected to rule within the month on whether the government can deport him to a country he has never known.

State Prosecutors Seek to Reinstate Conviction

While the federal government argues for deportation, North Dakota prosecutors are pursuing a separate effort to keep Kunkel incarcerated. They have asked the state supreme court to reinstate the overturned conviction, which would likely send him back to prison.

Deputy Solicitor General Asher Steinberg told the court that the undisclosed material identified by the defence does not, by itself, establish innocence, and that other evidence of Kunkel’s guilt is compelling. North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the “other evidence” includes witnesses who testified that Kunkel confessed to the killing.

Wrigley said that if the state supreme court reinstates the conviction, Kunkel would return to prison for the rest of his life. If the court rules that the conviction was unjust, Wrigley said Kunkel would be entitled to a new trial.

Kunkel now awaits decisions from both systems. If the state’s high court restores the life sentence, he would continue serving it. If it rejects reinstatement, he would return to Devil’s Lake, where he previously lived, while awaiting a new trial. If ICE succeeds in federal proceedings, he could be removed to Germany.

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23 September 2026