Background: The home on Maplehurst Lane in Baltimore County, Md., where authorities say the killing occurred (WMAR/YouTube). Inset left: Kimberly B. Lechner (Evans Funeral Chapel & Cremation Services). Inset right: Anthony Lechner (GoFundMe).
A man in Maryland was at his sister's home when suddenly he heard screaming and found her husband stabbing her to death, authorities say.
Anthony Lechner, 55, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, 56-year-old Kimberly Lechner. He was scheduled to have a plea hearing on Wednesday.
On the morning of Sept. 29, 2025, the husband and wife were at their house on the 900 block of Maplehurst Lane in Baltimore County, Maryland. The address is about 25 miles north of Baltimore.
The wife's brother was also in the home, per charging documents obtained by regional ABC affiliate WJLA. He said he heard screaming before he saw Anthony Lechner "actively stabbing her," in reference to his sister.
At about 6:15 a.m., the Baltimore County Police Department said its officers responded to the home "in reference to a domestic disturbance." The victim's brother had reportedly called and said his brother-in-law was stabbing his sister.
Officers found Kimberly Lechner "with trauma-related injuries," and she was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police said they found a bloody Anthony Lechner with cuts to his left wrist and right thigh. When they approached him, he apparently asked, "What happened?" and later said he "had no recollection of the incident."
He was arrested and jailed.
Court records show that in November, Anthony Lechner submitted a plea of not criminally responsible. He is apparently submitting an insanity defense, though the outcome of Wednesday's plea hearing was unclear at the time of publication.
Kimberly Lechner's family has raised concerns about the defendant allegedly leaving voice messages for his adult son via a prison employee's personal cellphone, with the messages stating he "always knew God was going to protect" him and that "the drugs were really the cause of everything," according to WJLA.
The inheritance of the wife's estate — valued at more than $2 million — is also being contested, with court filings reportedly claiming Anthony Lechner has tried to end financial support for his college-age children and sought to move the victim's disabled brother from her home.
Kimberly Lechner's obituary notes that she was a preschool teacher, where she "discovered immense joy in guiding toddlers through their first experiences with learning and discovery." It adds: "Her legacy of love and kindness will continue to ripple through the hearts of all who knew her."