Title: Love, Lies, and Murder: The Shocking Trial of a New York Dentist
On a chilly morning in November 2011, Linda Kolman set out on a desperate search for her husband, Tom. He hadn’t shown up for work, and her concern grew with each unanswered call. Her search ended in a gym parking lot in Kingston, New York, where she made a grim discovery—Tom’s lifeless body, slumped in the driver’s seat of his car, pants undone, seat reclined. What initially appeared to be a tragic and mysterious death would later unravel into a tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and an alleged murder plot involving Tom’s best friend.
Nearly four years later, authorities arrested Gilberto Nunez, a respected local dentist and Tom’s closest confidant. The shocking allegations? Nunez had poisoned Tom with a lethal dose of the sedative Midazolam, all to remove him from a love triangle gone awry. But that was only the beginning of the bizarre details that would grip the courtroom and leave the residents of Kingston in disbelief.
A Love Triangle Turned Deadly
Tom Kolman had been more than a friend to Nunez—he trusted him implicitly. But that trust was shattered when it was revealed that Nunez had been carrying on an affair with Linda Kolman, Tom’s wife. The romance, which spanned nearly a year, took a darker turn when Linda began receiving messages from an anonymous woman claiming to be sleeping with Tom. When she turned to Nunez for help, he told her not to worry—after all, he was in the CIA.
To support his claims, Nunez even produced an official-looking letter from a supposed CIA operative, confirming Tom’s alleged infidelity while also oddly advising Linda to forgive him. In reality, it was all a ruse. And as investigators dug deeper, they discovered even more unsettling deceptions.
The Web of Deception
During their investigation, detectives uncovered burner phones, falsified CIA documents, and a series of manipulative emails. Nunez had even impersonated his own mother in an email to Linda, begging her to leave Tom. But when all these schemes failed to break up the Kolmans, prosecutors argued, Nunez took matters into his own hands.
The case against Nunez was built largely on circumstantial evidence. Surveillance footage placed a vehicle resembling his SUV near the gym parking lot at the time of Tom’s death. A forensic search of Nunez’s computer revealed searches related to Midazolam, the drug later found in Tom’s system. And in a shocking move, Tom’s body was exhumed not once, but twice, with forensic experts finding traces of the drug in one of his eyes during the second autopsy.
The Trial That Shocked a Community
In 2016, Nunez stood trial for second-degree murder, a case that kept Kingston residents and national audiences riveted. Prosecutor Maryellen Albanese laid out a theory that painted Nunez as a man obsessed—so determined to claim Linda for himself that he staged an elaborate campaign of lies, deception, and ultimately, murder.
Yet, the defense team had their own narrative. They argued that Tom’s heart was dangerously enlarged and that his death was natural. A forensic pathologist testified that his heart was ready to fail at any moment, casting doubt on whether Midazolam had played any role at all. A pharmacologist also countered the prosecution’s claims, stating that the amount of the drug allegedly administered wasn’t sufficient to kill him.
Then there was the question of the so-called “mystery meetups.” The defense pointed to emails Tom had received from a hookup website, suggesting that he could have been meeting strangers in secret. Was there another person involved in his final moments? Had prosecutors rushed to judgment?
The Verdict and a Stunning Twist
On June 17, 2016, after weeks of emotional testimony, the jury delivered its verdict. To the shock of many, Nunez was acquitted of murder. The prosecution, despite their best efforts, had failed to eliminate reasonable doubt. But Nunez wasn’t off the hook just yet.
Though he walked free on the murder charge, Nunez was found guilty of felony forgery for the fake CIA documents. And his legal troubles didn’t end there. In two separate trials, he was convicted of insurance fraud and perjury, leading to a prison sentence of two-and-a-third to seven years.
Judge Donald Williams didn’t hold back during sentencing. Calling Nunez “an individual consumed by an illicit affair, willing to do absolutely anything…to promote his prurient interests,” the judge denied his request to regain his dentistry license.
Life After Prison
After serving 19 months, Nunez was released from Altona Correctional Facility in 2018, maintaining a clean disciplinary record. While his parole ended in October 2023, his once-thriving career as a dentist was over. Though he remarried in 2014, little is known about his life today.
A love triangle, a faked CIA connection, a potential poisoning, and a courtroom drama filled with twists—this case remains one of Kingston’s most bizarre and captivating true crime sagas. The only lingering question: Did Gilberto Nunez really get away with murder?
