Edmonton father convicted of manslaughter in killing of his 5-week-old son
Posted August 27, 2026 4:13 pm.
Last Updated August 27, 2026 4:09 pm.
An Edmonton father charged with second-degree murder for killing his own baby three years ago was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter on Thursday.
An Alberta court justice found George Russell Hulleman not guilty of the original charge because a psychological evaluation found him to be significantly cognitively impaired.
Hulleman fatally injured his five-week-old son Leviathan Puchalski at his home in west Edmonton in February 2023.
The infant was rushed to the Stollery Children’s Hospital intensive care unit where he died three days later.
An autopsy found the baby died of abusive head trauma and determined the manner of death was homicide.
The judge said despite Hulleman downplaying to police what he did to his boy, and the fact the baby’s injuries were caused by “extreme” force to his head, spine and limbs, the judge was still left with a doubt because of the psychological testing.
A doctor found Hulleman’s intelligence is lower than at least 90 per cent of people and that he may be unable to predict the consequences of his actions under stress.
Exactly how he hurt his baby was not proven.
Sentencing for Hulleman is set for next month.
