Shanetta Bossell’s case is moving toward a mental-health defense more than a year after Kansas City firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman was fatally stabbed while transporting her in an ambulance. Her attorneys say they plan to argue not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and/or diminished capacity, setting up a major legal fight before a trial date is locked in.
According to KMBC, Bossell’s lawyers notified the court and prosecutors of their intended defense and provided a forensic psychological evaluation. A trial-setting hearing is scheduled Friday morning in Clay County, but the filings do not establish that Bossell has been found incompetent to stand trial, and the court has not accepted the defense.
Hoffman Was Killed During An Ambulance Transport
Hoffman was 29 and had served with the Kansas City Fire Department since 2022, according to the Kansas City government. The department said he was stabbed in the chest while transporting a patient to a hospital after what began as a routine call.
Bossell is charged with first-degree murder and other felonies in connection with Hoffman’s death. The Associated Press reported that she pleaded not guilty after prosecutors alleged she stabbed Hoffman and then tried to drive away in the ambulance while others treated his wounds.
What The Mental Disease Defense Could Mean
For the not-guilty-by-reason-of-mental-disease portion of the case, Missouri law focuses on whether a mental disease or defect left a person unable to know or appreciate the nature, quality or wrongfulness of the conduct at the time. Under Missouri law, the issue goes to the fact-finder after substantial evidence is presented, and the defendant carries the burden of proving the defense by a preponderance of the credible evidence.
That makes the newly disclosed evaluation important, but it does not resolve the case. The court filing is a notice of legal strategy rather than a ruling that Bossell was mentally ill, legally irresponsible for the alleged killing or unable to participate in her own defense.
Friday Hearing Will Put The Case On A Trial Track
The scheduled hearing is expected to address the next major steps in Clay County, including how the case will proceed toward trial. For Hoffman’s family and Kansas City’s first-responder community, the filing marks the latest development in a case that began with a fatal attack inside an ambulance and is now turning on competing questions of criminal responsibility and mental state.
