Another lawyer wants out of Chyung’s murder case

Norwich man faces second trial in death of his wife in 2009

Another attorney is citing a breakdown of his relationship with Chihan Eric Chyung, who is scheduled for a second murder trial in August in the June 2, 2009, shooting death of his wife, Paige Anne Bennett, in Norwich.

Dennis P. McMahon of Manchester, a private attorney on contract with the state to represent clients as a special public defender, was appointed by Judge Arthur C. Hadden in January. Hadden appointed McMahon after giving Chyung’s previous attorney, Cheryl E. Heffernen, permission to withdraw due to “complete breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.” Heffernan was appointed to represent Chyung after the state Supreme Court overturned his conviction in April 2017.

In a motion filed Monday in New London Superior Court, McMahon also cited a breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.

“Defendant does not wish to be represented by the undersigned and refuses to allow the undersigned to allow an investigator to work on the case,” McMahon wrote in the motion to withdraw from the case.

The judge is expected to address the motion when Chyung appears in Superior Court in Norwich on May 7. It is unclear whether jury selection will go forward as scheduled on Aug. 20.

Chyung, 55, remains incarcerated while awaiting his second murder trial.

He was convicted of murder and manslaughter in 2014 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. According to testimony and court documents, just 17 days after Chyung and Bennett were married, Chyung shot Bennett, 46, after the couple fought about expenses. Chyung admitted on the witness stand that he shot Bennett, but claimed his Glock 9-mm discharged accidentally when he attempted to pack it in a suitcase and leave their Taftville home. The state contended he intentionally killed Bennett.

At his murder trial, he was represented by private attorneys Brian J. Woolf and Kathleen E. Rallo. Attorney Conrad O. Seifert was appointed by the court to represent him for his appeal.

In the appeal, Seifert successfully argued before the Supreme Court that the conviction was legally inconsistent. The murder charge required that the jury find Chyung acted intentionally, while the manslaughter charge required a finding that he acted with reckless disregard for human life. The high court overturned the conviction and returned the case to the trial court.

In a motion filed Monday in New London Superior Court, lawyer Dennis P. McMahon cited a breakdown of the attorney-client relationship.