BURLINGTON — A federal judge has agreed to allow a long-stalled wrongful death lawsuit to resume against a California scientist convicted last month in Burlington for being the mastermind in a cross-country murder-for-hire-case seven years ago in Danville.

The estate of Gregory Davis through his widow, Melissa Davis as the administrator of the estate, filed the civil lawsuit three years ago against Serhat D. Gumrukcu, who was subsequently convicted on three felony counts, including murder for hire conspiracy claims.

Also named as civil defendants were Gumrukcu’s husband, William A. Wittekind, along with the SG & AW Holdings LLC and GTB Holdings LLC, according to the civil lawsuit filed June 21, 2022 in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

The federal court agreed in June 2023 to suspend the civil case to avoid the unfairness of forcing Gumrukcu “into a choice between providing information in civil discovery or preserving his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination in the criminal case,” according to lawyers Paul Perkins and Michael Hanley of White River Junction and Andrew B. Delaney and Stefan Ricci of Barre, who have been retained by the estate.

They filed a motion this month that noted Gumrukcu waived his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent and had testified in his defense at the criminal trial.

The jury deliberated for about six hours before convicting him on all counts, including wire fraud, which sparked the killing.

“Mr. Gumrukcu had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the charges … and the matter was resolved by a final judgment on the merits,” the lawyers for Mrs. Davis wrote. “A stay is no longer necessary or appropriate,” they said.

Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford agreed during a court hearing on Friday to lift the stay. He said there was no reason for the case to be on hold in light of the criminal conviction following a five-week trial.

Perkins told the court that he plans to file a motion seeking summary judgement on the wrongful death claim because the jury had ruled Gumrukcu was guilty.

Gumrukcu did not attend the court hearing Friday and some of his lawyers are trying to move on from representing him.

San Francisco defense lawyer Ethan A. Balogh, who took the lead for much of the criminal case, filed a recent notice of withdrawal, which Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss has granted.

“Counsel reports that he has fulfilled his obligations to his client,” he said in his motion.

Gumrukcu and his other defense attorney Susan K. Marcus of Boston consented to the granting of the motion, Balogh wrote. He said Marcus will continue as lead counsel.

Reiss gave Gumrukcu’s legal team until May 18 to file any possible post-trial motions, but none had been filed a week after the court deadline.

Gumrukcu, 42, is facing a mandatory life sentence, but no date has been set for the court hearing. He is detained at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town.

Meanwhile attorney Lisa Shelkrot of Langrock, Sperry & Wool in Burlington, who is defending Gumrukcu in the civil lawsuit, also has asked that she be allowed to withdraw.

“I hope not to be involved,” Shelkrot told the court.

“He’d prefer to represent himself,” Shelkrot explained. She said Gumrukcu had represented himself initially in the civil case.

When asked by Crawford on why she wanted to leave, Shelkrot said she preferred not to disclose any private communications with her client. She did confirm that she was still in communication with the defendant.

Crawford said he hoped Shelkrot could remain on the civil case for at least 30 days and help the case get moving forward.

“I’d prefer it to be immediately,” she said about her departure.

The judge asked the lawyers if there was a chance that they could at least come up with a possible figure for the wrongful death claim before Shelkrot exited the case.

Mrs. Davis, who was pregnant with the couple’s seventh child when her husband was killed in January 2018, also has sued for the infliction of emotional distress. At the time the couple had four sons ages 12, 8, 6, and 1 and two daughters ages, 10 and 3. Melissa Davis eventually delivered another daughter.

The final request is for the court to address claims under the Uniform Voidable Transactions Act. They would include stock in his company, Enochian Biosciences and any fraudulent transfers as outlined in the am ended complaint, court papers note.

Perkins estimated that it would take about 10-to-12 months to complete all the discovery in the lawsuit before it was ready for trial. Shelkrot agreed with that estimate.

Testimony at the criminal trial showed Gumrukcu had financed the hit because he feared Gregory Davis, 49, was going to go to federal authorities over a bogus investment deal that he found himself with the defendant and his brother. Gumrukcu feared it would halt a proposed $100 million investment plan with Gumrukcu’s business, Enochian Biosciences of California, that he was due to close on shortly.

Crawford had approved the seizure of more than 12 million shares of Enochian Bioscience stock on behalf of Mrs. Davis shortly after the civil lawsuit was filed. The judge has noted it was worth about $2 a share at the time. The judge noted on Friday that it was probably down considerably.

Perkins estimated the current worth about 31 cents a share. Perkins and the judge questioned whether there would be any buyers at that price.

Perkins also said other assets might be available from Gumrukcu, including a multi-million dollar home in Los Angeles. Crawford asked if it was still standing in light of the massive wildfires that have swept through the state.

Burlington lawyer Heather Ross, who represents Gumrukcu’s husband, said she was unsure of any damage to the home, but had not heard from Wittekind recently. She said the house was put on the market, but never sold and her client still lives there as a half owner.

Wittekind had made the cross-country trip to sit through his husband’s trial.

Ross, a former assistant U.S. Attorney, said she expects she will file a motion to dismiss within the next 45 days.

During his trial, Gumrukcu, who was born in Turkey, admitted that he frequently lied and would defraud people, including investors. He also admitted that he had lied about obtaining various medical degrees and a doctorate.

At one point Gumrukcu testified he had “told so many lies I can’t remember what was true.” He later told the jury he had trouble remembering. He said he had “played so many roles” and later admitted “details are hazy.”

The jurors took lots of notes and appeared laser focused. They did not send out any notes to the judge asking for clarification of legal issues or to have testimony read back.

Three co-conspirators pleaded guilty to various charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Among them is Jerry Banks, the actual triggerman, who impersonated a federal deputy marshal and abducted Davis from his home on a Saturday night with a claim there was an arrest warrant. Instead he drove him to nearby Barnet and fired multiple shots into his back and head while he stood handcuffed in a pull-off area of a rural road.

The international criminal case has generated considerable media interest, including at least three movie or documentary producers. Two sat throughout the entire trial and one attended the first and last weeks.