{"id":31171,"date":"2026-06-03T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=31171"},"modified":"2026-05-31T16:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T21:22:11","slug":"devils-lake-kunkel-conviction-order-takes-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/devils-lake-kunkel-conviction-order-takes-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils Lake: Kunkel Conviction Order Takes Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Devils Lake: Kunkel Conviction Order Takes Effect<\/h2>\n
Devils Lake<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 A judge has ordered Werner Kunkel\u2019s vacated murder conviction to take effect right away.<\/p>\n

The order blocks a state request to keep Kunkel in prison during an appeal.<\/p>\n

Kunkel was moved on Friday, May 29, from the state prison in Jamestown. He is now held at the Lake Region Correctional Facility in Devils Lake.<\/p>\n

The change means Kunkel returns to pre-trial detainee status. He is again presumed innocent under the law.<\/p>\n

Conviction Vacated After Decades<\/h2>\n

Kunkel was convicted in 1995 of the killing of Gilbert Fassett. Fassett was found dead in August 1986 on the Spirit Lake Nation.<\/p>\n

His body was badly decomposed and had many stab wounds.<\/p>\n

Kunkel was not named as a suspect for nearly 10 years. Jailhouse informants later claimed Kunkel had confessed.<\/p>\n

In February, District Judge Daniel Narum overturned the conviction. The ruling followed a three-day evidentiary hearing.<\/p>\n

Kunkel\u2019s defense team argued that key witness statements were withheld. Those witnesses said they saw Fassett alive after Aug. 1, 1986.<\/p>\n

That date was important in the original case. Prosecutors had claimed Fassett was last seen alive with Kunkel.<\/p>\n

\"Werner<\/p>\n

Werner Kunkel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

State Appeal Continues<\/h2>\n

State prosecutors have appealed Narum\u2019s ruling to the North Dakota Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The state also asked Narum to delay his order. Prosecutors argued Kunkel could be taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> custody if released.<\/p>\n

Narum denied that request.<\/p>\n

Kunkel remains held on the original $300,000 bond in the case. Both sides agreed to a no-bond order for now.<\/p>\n

However, both sides may ask for a future hearing on the bond.<\/p>\n

Attorney Says Move Matters<\/h2>\n

Dane DeKrey, one of Kunkel\u2019s attorneys, said the move is important.<\/p>\n

He said prison means a person has been found guilty. Jail means the case has returned to a pre-trial stage.<\/p>\n

DeKrey said Kunkel\u2019s move to Devils Lake also puts him closer to family.<\/p>\n

He said Kunkel has been texting with family and friends since Friday.<\/p>\n

DeKrey said Kunkel\u2019s mother is very ill. The move may help family members remain connected.<\/p>\n

No future hearings are now scheduled in the case.<\/p>\n

DeKrey said Kunkel and his legal team still hope for full exoneration. Both sides are waiting for the Supreme Court appeal decision.<\/p>\n

A fundraiser titled \u201cHelp Werner Kunkel Reconnect with Loved Ones\u201d has been posted on GoFundMe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fassett\u2019s killing and Kunkel\u2019s conviction were also featured in reporting by The Forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A judge ordered Werner Kunkel\u2019s vacated murder conviction to take effect now, moving him to Devils Lake as the state appeal continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[2617,772,5308,6315,4165,1455,1703,252],"class_list":["post-31171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-conviction","tag-crime","tag-devils","tag-effect","tag-kunkel","tag-lake","tag-order","tag-takes","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31171"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31182,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31171\/revisions\/31182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}