A Baltimore County murder case is colliding with a high-stakes inheritance fight, and the outcome could leave a Monkton man accused of killing his wife in line to receive her fortune.
Relatives of 56-year-old Kimberly Lechner say her husband, 55-year-old Anthony Lechner, could inherit her assets if a judge accepts a psychiatric report that finds him not criminally responsible. The case has already moved into probate ahead of a hearing set for Wednesday, June 3, and the family is pressing the court for access to a redacted version of that evaluation. Their attorneys argue they need the report to fully participate in the proceedings and to guard what is left of Kimberly’s estate.
Kimberly was found dead with stab wounds after police responded to the 900 block of Maplehurst Lane in Monkton on Sept. 29, 2025. Investigators later arrested Anthony on a first-degree murder charge. A judge ordered him to undergo a mental competency evaluation after defense lawyers said he didn’t realize what was going on, and the criminal case is still pending. Charging documents, court filings, and details of the evaluation have been described by WBAL.
The family has now filed a motion to see a redacted copy of a report that they say concludes Anthony was not criminally responsible, a finding that could open the door for him to claim his wife’s assets in probate. The estate allegedly includes the family home, vehicles, and retirement accounts worth more than $2 million. Because the couple’s children are adults, Maryland’s intestacy rules would not automatically award them half of the estate, family attorney Thiru Vignarajah told CBS Baltimore. The motion also asks the court to postpone the June 3 hearing so a forensic psychiatrist can review voice messages the family says Anthony left in May.
How the law could let him inherit
Most states bar a person who intentionally and unlawfully kills someone from inheriting from the victim, a principle often referred to as the “slayer rule.” How that rule works in real life, though, depends on specific findings and on whether the issue is being decided in a criminal or civil setting.
In probate court, judges can sometimes rely on a lower civil standard of proof to decide who can receive a deceased person’s property. A separate criminal finding that a defendant was not criminally responsible can muddy the waters, especially when families are trying to keep someone accused of a killing from taking any part of the estate. For background on how these inheritance rules vary and why relatives often push to see psychiatric evaluations early, see LegalClarity.
Family seeks more time, new psychiatric review
Vignarajah told CBS Baltimore that the family wants the June 3 probate hearing pushed back while an independent forensic psychiatrist reviews “unsolicited voice messages” Anthony allegedly left on his son’s phone in May. In those recordings, the attorney says, Anthony first denies killing Kimberly and later blames drugs.
The attorney also says Anthony has moved to cut off support for his college-aged children and has told Kimberly’s disabled brother that he must leave the home. Relatives argue that those alleged actions highlight what is at stake in the probate fight and why they are pushing for a second psychiatric opinion before the court accepts any report that could affect the estate.
What’s next in court
The hearing scheduled for Wednesday is expected to focus on whether the probate court will accept the psychiatric report and, as a result, whether Anthony may seek to claim property from Kimberly’s estate. The criminal case is proceeding on a separate track. Prosecutors have charged Anthony with first-degree murder, and he has been ordered to undergo competency evaluations, according to WBAL.
If the probate judge allows the inheritance to move forward while the criminal charges are still unresolved, the family says it will continue trying to block any transfer of assets to the accused husband. For now, relatives are asking the court to release the redacted psychiatric report to them and to give their experts time to weigh in before any property changes hands. The hearing is set for June 3, and the family says it plans to contest both the criminal and probate developments until a judge issues a final ruling.
