(MCKEAN COUNTY, Pennsylvania:  September 9, 2025):  District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer reports that the Port Allegany man charged with causing the death of a Port Allegany woman in February has pled guilty to causing her death.  And a McKean County Judge will determine the degree of homicide.  

Brian KUCHINKA was charged in February after the family of K-Leigh Hill-Nelson reported her missing after she failed to appear at her job in Smethport. Her body was found disrobed under a bed in a motel room where KUCHINKA was known to stay and he was taken into custody after several hours while State Police tried to secure his capture. Trooper Whitney Boshart, Pennsylvania State Police-Lewis Run, is the lead investigator.  

The case was listed for a jury trial in October.  During a pretrial conference with the Judge at the McKean County Courthouse earlier today, KUCHINKA pled guilty to Criminal Homicide and Abuse of a Corpse.

District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer explained the charge of Homicide:  “Criminal Homicide is the criminal charge when an offender causes the death of another person. It is an “umbrella” crime and is made up of Murder 1, Murder 2, Murder 3, Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter. The plea was agreeable to the Commonwealth and the victim’s family because it required the offender to accept responsibility for causing the death and accomplished the same thing that a jury trial would. When a jury trial occurs in a Criminal Homicide case, the jury has to first determine if the offender caused the death within the meaning of the criminal law. If the jury agrees on the charge of Criminal Homicide, it must then go through each of the sub-crimes and determine if the offender committed the Homicide in an intentional/premediated fashion (Murder 1), while committing a specified felony (Murder 2), all the way through each sub-crime of murder and manslaughter.  The plea requires the offender to plead guilty to Homicide and Abuse of the Corpse and, now, the Judge will determine what level of Homicide it was the same as a jury would. The trial with the judge will occur in October.  After the evidence, the Judge will determine if it is Murder 1, 2, 3 or Voluntary/Involuntary Manslaughter and the offender will be sentenced accordingly.”