Copyright 1995 The Baltimore Sun Company   The Baltimore Sun December 19, 1995, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION SECTION: LOCAL (NEWS), Pg. 3B LENGTH: 424 words HEADLINE: Ex-officer sentenced to life for murder; Former sergeant convicted 2nd time in woman's death BYLINE: Elaine Tassy, SUN STAFF BODY: Calling him "evil," a Baltimore County Circuit judge sentenced James Allan Kulbicki to life without the possibility of parole plus 20 years for the murder of a Baltimore woman with whom he had a three-year adulterous affair. Kulbicki, a former Baltimore police sergeant, was convicted last month in a retrial for the murder of Gina Marie Nueslein, 22, a Royal Farm Store employee who bore Kulbicki a son, Michael, now 4. The sentence was the same as Kulbicki received nearly two years ago, after his first trial ended in a conviction. But that conviction was overturned by the state Court of Special Appeals, which cited an error by Circuit Judge John Grason Turnbull II for not allowing the defendant to rebut testimony. Ms. Nueslein was found dead from a gunshot wound in Gunpowder State Park on Jan. 10, 1993, three days before a paternity hearing through which she was seeking child support from Kulbicki. Blood and fragments of her skull were found in his truck. During the trial, his family and several shopkeepers testified that when the murder was believed to have occurred, he was either running errands or with his wife and their son in a shopping mall. Yesterday, before imposing a sentence, Circuit Judge Barbara Kerr Howe heard from Ms. Nueslein's sister, Jennifer Nueslein, 18: "How do you explain to an innocent little boy what happened to his mother?" she said of Michael. "She was taken away. Our family's life will never be the same." Deputy State's Attorney Sue A. Schenning, who prosecuted both trials, sought and won the maximum penalty. "I can't conceive of another case that is more tragic and senseless than this one," she said. "What compounds it is that Michael's own blood relative, his father, caused this to happen." But Kulbicki, 39, and his family, maintained his innocence. "Someplace, somebody is guilty of that crime, and I'm here for that person," Kulbicki said. "I don't know what else to do to prove my innocence." He added: "I am glad on that Saturday, Jan. 9, I was with my son and my wife." Otherwise, he said, they would always have "had that doubt." He asked that Judge Howe consider his past record that included volunteer work and no prior crime, and that she be lenient in her sentencing so he eventually could resume family life. But Judge Howe said she had considered everything in the case, and evidence of his guilt was overwhelming. "Mr. Kulbicki is not all bad but I also believe he is an evil person, a manipulator, a controller, an adulterer," she said.