Richard Scott Baumhammers

Case details

Richard Scott Baumhammers (born May 17, 1965) was an American immigration attorney and spree killer who began a racially motivated crime spree on April 28, 2000 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that left five individuals dead and one paralyzed.

Background

Baumhammers was born in Pittsburgh to Andrejs and Inese Baumhammers, both Lutheran Latvian immigrants who fled the Soviet annexation of their homeland. Andrejs and Inese became faculty members of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Dental Medicine and opened a successful practice on Fifth Avenue, near the university.

Baumhammers was the second child; his older sister Daina was born in 1963. The family settled in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon. Both Richard and Daina attended Mt. Lebanon High School and appeared to have succeeded academically. Richard was a second-string kicker on the Mt. Lebanon High School football team.

Daina Baumhammers Pack later became a member of the medical faculty at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

After completing high school in 1983, Baumhammers graduated from Kent State University in Ohio in 1989 and began to pursue a law degree at Cumberland Law School in Birmingham, Alabama. A Cumberland classmate described Baumhammers as "gregarious, a good student, in the top third of his class."

After graduating from Cumberland, Baumhammers enrolled in a specialized one-year international program at the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. He received a master's degree in transnational business practice and specialized in both immigration law and international law.

For several years in the mid-1990s, Baumhammers lived in Atlanta, Georgia where he was listed with the International Law Section members of the Georgia Bar Association. He was an active member as of March 2000.

Baumhammers returned to Pittsburgh in the late 1990s and lived with his parents following a series of emotional problems. Baumhammers had been treated for mental illness since 1993, and had voluntarily admitted himself to a psychiatric ward at least twice.

His father, Andrejs, later proclaimed that he had seen signs of mental illness since Richard was four years old. Andrejs also testified that Baumhammers obsessed about his physical appearance and believed that his face had been scarred by sunlight. Dermatologists told Baumhammers that his skin was "perfectly normal".

Baumhammers was a member of the Allegheny County Bar Association until he let his membership lapse in 1999.

Emotional instability and psychiatric treatment

In 1993, Baumhammers travelled to Europe for a vacation. After returning home, Andrejs said he was shocked by his son's emotional state.

Andrejs testified that Richard told him that during a visit to Ukraine, he became "euphoric". By the time he travelled to Finland, Baumhammers believed people were following and harassing him. Andrejs also claimed later that Baumhammers told his parents he was no longer able to openly speak to them because he believed the FBI was monitoring the house. Baumhammers insisted that his parents had to go into the basement to have a conversation with him, using a pen and notepad. Andrejs also claimed that Richard asked at one point to be taken to Dr. Kevorkian to help him commit suicide.

Baumhammers admitted himself to Pittsburgh's Western Psychiatric Hospital and was diagnosed with delusional disorder of the persecutional type by Dr. Matcheri Keshavan. Over the next several years, Baumhammers saw eight psychiatrists and four clinical psychologists and tried 16 different medications.

After release, Baumhammers stayed with his parents in their Mt. Lebanon home.

A later account described that Baumhammers bragged in jail, and that his mental competency was addressed in hearings.

Travel and Latvian citizenship

In 1997, the unemployed Baumhammers travelled to Riga, Latvia. He lived in an apartment on Kr. Barona Avenue less than a block away from where his grandparents had lived in the mid-1930s.

He acquired Latvian citizenship and sought to regain some of the family's properties lost during the Soviet occupation of Latvia. He made a claim under Latvia's de-nationalization process, but he was too late because claims needed to be filed by 1996.

Several people who associated with him in Latvia said he kept mostly to himself. When he socialized, he seemed most comfortable spending time with native Latvians and a few passing Latvian-Americans. Those who met him in Latvia did not recall Baumhammers being prone to violence or espousing racist remarks. The Latvian government had no record of Baumhammers ever getting in trouble with authorities.

Some Latvian acquaintances described his intent on meeting women as "awkward".

Arrest in Paris for striking Vivianne Le Garrac

In the fall of 1999, Baumhammers was arrested in Paris, France for striking a 50-year-old female bartender named Vivianne Le Garrac because he "believed she was Jewish". Baumhammers told Le Garrac and the arresting officers that he was "mentally ill". Police took Baumhammers for evaluation to the psychiatric ward of the Hotel Dieu, a Parish hospital, and then detained him at a police station. By week's end, he left on a flight for Spain.

On April 27, 1999, Baumhammers purchased a .357 Magnum revolver in South Strabane Township, Pennsylvania.

The offence

Friday, April 28, 2000

At 1:30 p.m. EST, Richard Baumhammers walked to the home of his next-door neighbor, a 63-year-old Jewish woman named Nicki Gordon, and fatally shot her, then set her house on fire. Gordon had been friends with Baumhammers' parents for 31 years.

Afterwards, Baumhammers jumped into his black Jeep Cherokee and drove to the Beth El Congregation in Scott Township, where Gordon was a member. There, he fired into the windows of the synagogue. He exited his vehicle and spray-painted two red swastikas on the building.

A short distance away at the India Grocer in Scott Town Center, 31-year-old Anil Thakur, formerly of Bihar, India, was shot to death while picking up groceries on his lunch hour. A 25-year-old store manager named Sandeep Patel was shot in the neck and paralyzed.

Baumhammers then drove to the Ahavath Achim Congregation in Carnegie, where he shattered the synagogue's glass windows with gunfire.

At Robinson Towne Center, about ten miles from his home, he walked into Ya Fei Chinese Cuisine where two Asian-Americans—Chinese restaurant manager Ji-ye Sun, aged 34, and Theo "Tony" Pham, a 27-year-old Vietnamese-American cook—were fatally shot in front of customers.

From Robinson Town Center, Baumhammers drove to the C.S. Kim School of Karate in Center Township, Beaver County. Garry Lee, a 22-year-old African-American, was exercising with a European-American friend, George Thomas II. Baumhammers initially pointed the gun at Thomas, then turned and fired at Lee, killing him instantly.

Additional accounts of the offence (same events)

The spree took place within a 20-mile range through suburbs surrounding Pittsburgh and lasted about an hour's span. Police described the rampage as racially motivated.

Police first responded to a small fire at the home of Anita Gordon in Mount Lebanon, next door to the home of Baumhammers' parents. She was found dead inside after having been shot several times. Baumhammers allegedly set a small fire at the house after killing Gordon.

The gunman shot at Beth El Congregation and painted the word "Jew" on the front and swastikas on the outside walls. At India Grocers, police said he killed Anil Thakur and critically wounded Sandip Patel. At Ya Fei Chinese Cuisine, he killed Thao Pham and Ji-Ye Sun, with witnesses saying the gunman asked for "Tony" and "Jerry" before opening fire. At the karate school, he shot and killed Garry Lee after pointing the weapon at George Thomas II.

Arrest and custody

Baumhammers was pulled over in his Jeep and arrested at 3:30 p.m. EST in the town of Ambridge, Pennsylvania.

The rampage lasted two hours and ran a 15-mile trail that crossed three townships.

He was held without bail in Beaver Falls in one account and later was described as being kept under suicide watch at Beaver County Jail.

Charges

Baumhammers was charged with 19 crimes which included eight counts of ethnic intimidation, two counts of arson, two counts of criminal mischief, one count of arson, one count of reckless endangerment of another person, one count of violation of uniform firearms act, two counts of institution vandalism, one count of aggravated assault, one count of criminal attempt, and five criminal homicides.

He was also charged with homicide, arson and hate crimes at arraignment.

A later account described that, during arraignment in Beaver Falls on one count of murder and recklessly endangering another person, he was 6-foot-2 and wore a bulletproof vest over a faded black T-shirt.

Evidence and alleged political materials

When Pittsburgh police officers searched Baumhammers' Mt. Lebanon home, they found a document for the "Free Market Party" written by Baumhammers that read like a manifesto and listed him as the "chairman." The document purportedly championed the rights of European Americans and complained that they were being outnumbered by minorities and immigrants.

Investigators also seized computer equipment and writings about race from Baumhammers' Mt. Lebanon home to determine if the suburban shooting rampage that killed five people and critically wounded a sixth were hate crimes.

Baumhammers had created an internet website where he called for "an end to non-white immigration" and stated that "almost all" present day immigration "is non-European".

Fitness to stand trial and psychiatric evaluations

May 19, 2000 ruling by Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole

On May 19, 2000, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole ruled that Baumhammers was unfit to stand trial and ordered him to undergo at least 90 days of psychiatric treatment.

O'Toole made his decision after three psychiatrists examined Baumhammers, each concluding he was psychologically unstable and offering different diagnoses: one testified he was a paranoid schizophreniac, another testified he suffered from psychotic thought disorder, and the last testified he suffered from a delusional disorder.

On May 18, Baumhammers was deemed incompetent to stand trial and ordered transferred to Mayview State Hospital for treatment in one account. Judge O'Toole said Baumhammers was incompetent to aid in his own defense on homicide charges and could be tried later if his mental state improved.

May 1, 2000 arraignment and bond

On May 01, 2000, Baumhammers was arraigned on charges of homicide, arson and hate crimes. His bond was set at $1 million dollars.

May 16, 2000 psychiatric treatment order

A later account described the order to undergo at least 90 days of psychiatric treatment before trial.

Competence to stand trial

On September 16, 2000, Baumhammers was declared competent to stand trial on charges that he killed five people and caused crippling injuries to a sixth person during a shooting rampage across two counties in April.

A request to remain in a state hospital to be treated was denied. Common Pleas Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole ordered Baumhammers, 35, of Mt. Lebanon, transferred from Mayview State Hospital's forensic psychiatric unit to the Allegheny County Jail.

Trial and verdict

Jury conviction

On May 09, 2001, a jury found Richard Baumhammers guilty on all nineteen charges.

A later account described that the jury deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before finding Baumhammers guilty of 28 charges, including five murders and paralyzing a sixth victim, after a 90-minute attacked fueled by racial and ethnic hatred.

Baumhammers pleaded innocent, claiming that he was too insane at the time to know that what he did was wrong. Defense attorneys said he heard voices that told him to kill.

Prosecution arguments included that Baumhammers was "controlled, deliberate, calculating and selective" in picking victims, avoiding attention and eluding police. The prosecutor also acknowledged that Baumhammers was mentally ill but argued his actions were deliberate.

Sentencing

On May 11, 2001, after deliberating for 20 minutes, the same jury requested that Baumhammers be executed for his crimes.

A later account described that the judge formally sentenced Baumhammers to five death sentences and imposed 112 1/2 to 225 years in prison. In imposing the death penalties, the judge rejected defense claims that Baumhammers was too mentally ill to know what he was doing when he shot and killed his Jewish neighbor, two Asian men, an Indian man and a black man.

Defense counsel requested mercy and sought to have jurors spare his life, arguing his mental state made it impossible for him to control his actions.

One account described that defense attorney James A. Wymard argued against the death penalty and asked jurors to sentence Baumhammers to five consecutive life terms without possibility of parole.

Another account described that jurors looked weary after deliberations that included conviction deliberations and then a three hours and 15 minutes decision on lethal injection.

Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning set Aug. 27 as the date for official sentencing in one account.

Appeals

Baumhammers was awaiting judicial appeal dates after sentencing.

Outcome and status in custody

Baumhammers was scheduled to die by lethal injection and was incarcerated on death row at Greene State Correctional Institute in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, awaiting judicial appeal dates.

Aftermath

Civil wrongful death lawsuit

A wrongful death lawsuit against Richard Baumhammers was filed on behalf of the manager of a Chinese restaurant who was killed during an April 28 shooting rampage.

May Ling Kung, the widow of Ji-Ye "Jerry" Sun, filed a civil suit in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court seeking compensatory and punitive damages of at least $75,000 for wrongful death, the loss of earning capacity, and the loss of future earnings. She sought a jury trial.

Condition and death of shooting victim

Sandeep Patel was paralyzed from the neck down and was later described as remaining hospitalized, with the possibility he would never again use his arms or legs.

In one account, Patel would be wheelchair-bound for the next seven years before dying at the age of 32 in February 2007 from complications due to pneumonia at UPMC, in McCandless, Pennsylvania.

Inmate-related account

One account described that Baumhammers bragged about killing five people, predicted his family's money and his own legal background would help him out of legal troubles, and asked whether a federal or state prison would be more desirable.

Other details: persons, places, and victims

Place names and institutions

The spree involved locations including Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Mt. Lebanon; Scott Township; Scott Town Center; Carnegie; Robinson Towne Center; Center Township; Beaver County; Ambridge; Beaver Falls; Waynesburg; Greene State Correctional Institute; Mt. Lebanon High School; Kent State University; Cumberland Law School; University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law; and Western Psychiatric Hospital.

Religious sites included Beth El Congregation, Ahavath Achim Congregation, Beth El Synagogue, and a conservative synagogue described as also having the word "Jew" spray-painted and swastikas.

Victims listed in the accounts

Nicki Gordon, 63, a Jewish woman and next-door neighbor.

Anil Thakur, 31, formerly of Bihar, India.

Sandeep Patel, 25, shot in the neck and paralyzed.

Ji-ye Sun, aged 34, and Theo "Tony" Pham, 27.

Garry Lee, 22, and George Thomas II as the European-American friend at the karate school.

Additional named individuals and roles mentioned

Andrejs Baumhammers and Inese Baumhammers were Baumhammers' parents.

Daina Baumhammers Pack was his older sister.

Dr. Kevorkian was referenced by Andrejs as an option Richard asked for.

Dr. Matcheri Keshavan diagnosed Baumhammers at Western Psychiatric Hospital.

Judge Lawrence J. O'Toole ruled on fitness and later competence to stand trial.

Judge Jeffrey A. Manning handled sentencing in accounts.

Deputy Coroner Timothy G. Uhrich asked questions during arraignment in one account.

Prosecutor Ed Borkowski / Deputy District Attorney Edward J. Borkowski presented arguments at trial.

Defense attorneys included William Difenderfer and James A. Wymard; William H. Difenderfer and James Wymard were referenced in trial accounts.

FBI assistance was mentioned, including special agent Jeff Killeen.

Paris arrest included Vivianne Le Garrac.

Verbatim quotations (as given)

Dermatologists told Baumhammers his skin was: "perfectly normal".

Andrejs Baumhammers testified that Richard told him he became "euphoric" in Ukraine.

Andrejs Baumhammers claimed Baumhammers believed people were following and harassing him in Finland.

Andrejs Baumhammers claimed Baumhammers said he believed the FBI was monitoring the house.

Andrejs Baumhammers claimed Baumhammers asked to be taken to Dr.

Baumhammers' father said Richard told his family they had to go into the basement to have a conversation using a pen and notepad (no additional direct quote beyond that statement).

Baumhammers was arrested in Paris because he "believed she was Jewish".

A later account included the website calls for "an end to non-white immigration" and stated that "almost all" present day immigration "is non-European".

Kent Kretzler said of Baumhammers: "no panic, no anguish, nothing ... He was very calm,".

Kretzler said he heard five or six "cracking sounds".

A witness quote from the scene included: "He sat for maybe five or 10 seconds without doing anything, and just very calm and collectedly pulled out as if pulling out after buying a bag of groceries,".

Vinh Truong said: "I came out of the kitchen and saw Tony on the floor," and: "They said the [gunman] asked, 'Where's Tony? Where's Jerry."

Diane Winsip said: "We heard five or six gunshots" and said the suspect acted like: "He acted like nothing happened,".

A police-affidavit account included George Thomas II stating the gunman entered, pointed a weapon at him, and then directed it at Lee (no additional direct quote beyond that).

Diane Wenzig said: "I thought someone was beating on a garbage can with a baseball bat," and said the gunshots sounded like: "It just went `whap, whap, whap, whap.' Multiple times. It didn't sound normal."

Diane Wenzig said: "And then he popped off another couple of shots. I didn't see what he shot at. And then he calmly drove off,".

Diane Wenzig said she shouted license plate numbers: "BFW-9916,".

Diane Wenzig said: "They were ... different,".

A statement attributed to prosecutor Ed Borkowski included: "controlled, deliberate, calculating and selective".

Another quote attributed to prosecutor Ed Borkowski included: "cold, deliberate, calculating, selective and methodical. That describes his conduct that day.".

James A. Wymard said: "Look at him," and also said: "It's clear just by studying him ... he has been mentally ill for some time. The only question that remains for your consideration is when he will die and who will decide when he will die, you or God," and: "I beg you, in the name of all that is right, let God make that decision."

Inese Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "Hello, death row,".

Inese Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "You will die. You will be on death row the rest of your life,".

Andrejs Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "No visits. No magazines. No commissary. Nothing. Zero."

Richard Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "Well, I'll just waive the appeal and die," and: "What are you, crazy?" and: "Yes, I am, actually,".

Inese Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "They're going to say you're a racist," and: "Mom and Dad know you're mentally ill,".

Andrejs Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "Bill can't understand you're mentally ill. I called Bill back and I said, 'Well, you shot people because you're mentally ill and you're still mentally ill and you're signing things because you're mentally ill.' But that's hard to explain."

Richard Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "To tell you the truth, I don't want to sit in jail the rest of my life. I'd rather be executed anyhow,".

Inese Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "Well then execute yourself!".

Richard Baumhammers was quoted as saying: "I'm firing my attorneys and I'm defending myself,".

A prosecutor was quoted as saying: "Let him hear the voice of the evidence under the law, the verdict of death,".