Trial for man accused of shooting wife during a blizzard will not happen next week
The Indiana man accused of shooting his wife, Hannah Lynch, in the head and then shooting a sheriff's deputy, will not go to trial next week as scheduled.
Franklin County Prosecutor Christopher Huerkamp filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Gregory Guilfoyle this week saying more time was needed to prepare the case.
"I expect that these charges will be re-filed within due course and at that time my office will pick up right where it left off," Huerkamp said in a statement.
Both the prosecution and the defense have asked Franklin County Circuit Judge Steven Cox for more time, but both motions for a continuance were denied.
"Unfortunately, I was compelled to make the decision to dismiss the charges for now in order to preserve the opportunity to put the State's best case forward at trial, because I don't get a second chance," Huerkamp said.
What are the accusations?
On the night of Dec. 22, 2022, Guilfoyle was spotted walking the roads near Brookville, Indiana, during a snowstorm with his 2-year-old daughter, who was wearing only a onesie.
When a Franklin County sheriff's deputy caught up to him, the confrontation was quick. With the child in one hand, Guilfoyle drew a handgun with the other hand and fired at the officer striking him in his body armor, according to court documents.
The officer returned fire, striking Guilfoyle and causing him to fall and release his daughter, investigators said. The girl was uninjured during the gunfight.
After the deputies realized who Guilfoyle was, they rushed to his house to find his wife, Hannah Lynch. That October, they had been to the couple's home for a report of domestic violence involving Guilfoyle and one of his female relatives.
When they arrived the night of the shooting, the deputies found Lynch in the snow with her clothes frozen to her body, possibly an hour or more after she was shot. As the roads iced over in subzero temperatures, she was rushed 34 miles away to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati.
Lynch was hospitalized for weeks but lived.
Why both sides wanted more time
In the state's motion for a continuance filed Jan. 27, prosecutors said they had just received hundreds of pages of medical records along with a list of nearly two dozen defense witnesses.
Huerkamp said his office needed more time to review the evidence and prepare for trial.
Two days later, Guilfoyle's lawyer Judson McMillin filed his own motion for a continuance. He said his client's physical health was deteriorating.
McMillin has said in court documents the gunshots Guilfoyle received in the firefight with the deputy have left his client a paraplegic. These health issues were part of the reason Guilfoyle was permitted to await trial at his parent's home instead of being held in jail.
"The Defendant's current medical condition may be life-threatening," McMillin wrote in the motion.
Both motions were denied by Judge Cox.
"In a case like this, it would have been beneficial to grant a little more time," McMillin told the Enquirer Friday.
What's next
Under Indiana law, Judge Cox is required to grant Huerkamp's motion to dismiss.
Huerkamp has not said when he intends to re-file the charges. He told The Enquirer Friday that, in his mind, the case is still very much pending.
Franklin County has two elected Circuit Court judges and the cases are divided among them by the level of charge. Unless the charges against Guilfoyle change, Judge Cox will be assigned the case again.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Charges dropped in case of Hannah Lynch, but prosecutor intents to refile
