LANCASTER, Pa- A state-prison inmate serving life for the murder of a Drumore Township widower, will get no relief, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled this week.
Kyle “Chunks” Wunder argued to the high court that he asked his attorney to file an appeal after he was sentenced in 2013 – but the attorney never acted.
The Superior Court on Wednesday denied that claim, finding that no such conversation took place.
Wunder, 26, and his brother, Cody Wunder, are serving life sentences for the killing of 62-year-old Douglas Herr, shot during an overnight break-in at his home on Furniss Road.
At his brother’s command, Kyle Wunder shot Herr in the head at point-blank range after Herr wounded Cody Wunder during the Aug. 17, 2012, robbery.
Kyle Wunder pleaded guilty to first-degree murder; Cody Wunder pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; a third defendant, Stephen Harmer, was convicted at trial of second-degree murder. All are serving life terms.
In his request for relief, Kyle Wunder argued that he asked his attorney, Jeffrey Conrad, to file an appeal for “relief or reconsiderations.”
Conrad testified at a prior hearing that conversation never happened. In fact, Conrad testified, when he asked Kyle if he wanted an appeal filed, Kyle said, “nah.”
The high court agreed with Lancaster County President Judge Dennis Reinaker’s finding that Conrad’s testimony was credible.
Assistant District Attorney Andrew LeFever opposed Wunder’s request.
The motive for the robbery-turned-murder was a large cash settlement Herr received after his wife’s death years prior. Harmer learned that Herr kept the cash in his home and offered the robbery plot to the brothers, who accepted.
The men stole $211,000 from a safe in Herr’s bedroom.
