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A Grand Rapids man accused of murdering his sister in Laurium last year will begin trial next month.
A pretrial hearing was held Monday for 33-year-old Christian Paul Kitti in Houghton County Circuit Court.
Kitti is charged in the shooting death of his sister, 44-year-old Kimberly Renee Bess of Calumet in July of 2016.
Kitti’s attorney has asked the court to conduct the trial while his client would remain downstate.
Kitti is currently being lodged at the Forensic Psychiatric facility in Ann Arbor.
Judge Charles Goodman heard testimony from a doctor in the Ann Arbor facility who spoke on Kitti’s behalf and said that transporting Kitti to Houghton County could disrupt his mental state, making him incompetent to stand trial.
The court ruled that Kitti will remain in the facility during the proceedings and appear via video conference.
The trial begins on December 12th.
