Murder suspect to stand trial via video conference

HOUGHTON — A Grand Rapids man accused of murdering his sister in Larium last year will begin trial next month.

Thirty-three year-old Christian Paul Kitti will stand trial in the Houghton County beginning December 12th. Kitti’s attorney asked the court to conduct the trial while his client remains at a treatment facility downstate.

Kitti has been lodged in the facility since he was found incompetent to stand trial in September of last year, but the court said he could be made competent with treatment. One of his doctors testified on Kitti’s behalf, stating that transporting him to Houghton County could disrupt his mental state, which could make him incompetent to stand trial.

The court ruled that Kitti will remain in the facility during the proceedings and appear via video conference.

Kitti is charged in the shooting death of his sister, forty-four year-old Kimberly Renee Bess of Calumet in July of 2016.