Matthew Beck

Case record: Matthew Beck

Outcome

On March 6, 1998, Matthew Beck killed four of his supervisors at the Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Newington and then shot himself.

Beck died a short time later at Hartford Hospital after being found and taken to the hospital by officers responding to the attack. As police closed in, Beck shot himself in the right temple and fell just feet from his last victim.

Timeline

• March 6, 1998 — Matthew Beck opened fire at the Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Newington, killing four people, and then shot himself.

Background

Matthew Beck was a disgruntled accountant at Connecticut's lottery headquarters. He was 35. He had returned from a four-month stress-related medical leave shortly before the shootings, and he had been awaiting back pay.

Beck had filed a grievance report about his demotion from accountant to data processor and was awaiting back pay. A day before the attack, Beck met with his union representative to complain about a change of his job classification. Beck had worked for the lottery for eight years.

Beck contended he got a raw deal between July 1996 and October 1997. Supervisors shifted him from number-crunching at the lottery agency to testing computer software, and he believed he should have been paid more for the computer job than his accountant's salary. After months of negotiations, the state in January agreed to give him back an accounting job. Beck returned to work about a month later, but his new supervisor said Beck was not the same person upon his return.

Beck frightened some co-workers with talk of playing paintball and his gun collection. He had shaved his head and grew a goatee more than a year earlier. A co-worker said he collected guns and enjoyed playing paintball as a simulated war game. Another co-worker described him as quiet and diligent, and a childhood friend said, “He was the all-American guy. He was Mr. Clean-cut.”

Beck also complained to at least two newspapers that lottery players were being cheated. He claimed the Connecticut Lottery Corp. exaggerated potential winnings to spur ticket sales, and that store clerks were taking winning scratch tickets for themselves by cracking the computer system. He complained to The Day of New London and The Hartford Courant about unfair treatment at work. The Hartford Courant described him as frothing at the mouth with eyes described as “wild,” while The Day described him as “scruffy” in appearance.

Beck’s father, Donald Beck, read a written statement from Beck and his wife apologizing to the victims’ families. In that statement, Donald Beck read: “His murderous act was monstrous, but he was not a monster, as his friends and family can attest.”

Beck had depression and attempted suicide several times. A reported recent attempt had involved being nearly comatose from an overdose of medication. Donald Beck said that might have been a mistake.

Beck was a Florida Institute of Technology graduate, and he had worked for state government for eight years. A colleague said that when Beck left for medical leave in October, he had filed a grievance in August and had won the first round of that grievance in January while waiting to learn whether he would receive back pay.

Beck’s plan for the next evening included seeing the movie “Titanic” with a friend. His father said Beck looked perfectly normal.

The family lived in Ledyard, and Beck left to work the morning of the rampage after waking up, feeding his cat, greeting his father, and heading out the door saying, “Well, I’m off.”

A blue sticker on Donald Beck’s front door read: “Warning: Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again.” Police later searched a garage and a pickup truck at Beck’s father’s home in Ledyard. Police said Beck had a gun permit in that town. Donald Beck said: “Yes, he has been troubled, but I don’t want to talk to you right now.”

The offence

On March 6, 1998, Matthew Beck carried out an attack at the Connecticut Lottery headquarters in Newington.

Beck came to work armed with a Glock semi-automatic handgun, a butcher knife, and three clips containing at least 19 rounds each. Half an hour after reporting to work he left his office and headed for the executive suites. Witnesses said he planned the attack and was after the managers.

Beck first went into the office of Michael Logan, an information services manager. Michael Logan had denied Beck’s grievance. Beck shot and stabbed Logan with the butcher knife. Michael Logan was later described as the youngest of the victims at 33.

Beck then went to the adjacent area where chief financial officer Linda Mlynarczyk sat waiting to meet with him. Beck pointed the gun at Mlynarczyk. Beck said: “Bye, bye,” and pumped three bullets into her. Linda Mlynarczyk was 38 and had recently discussed Beck’s new duties with him.

The next person Beck killed inside was Rick Rubelmann, described as 40 and vice president of operations. Rubelmann had once been appealed to by Beck for help.

Beck then chased Otho Brown, the state's lottery president, out to the parking lot. Brown was 54. Brown stumbled, fell on his back, held up his arms, and started begging: “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me.” Beck answered: “Aw, shut up,” and shot him.

Beck died a short time later at Hartford Hospital.

Witness accounts described the episode as taking only a few minutes, and lottery employees reported that gunshots led workers to flee the building. A security guard yelled for workers to run for the woods nearby.

A person described closing the door and dialing 911 during the attack.

There was no armed security at lottery headquarters, which was about 10 miles south of Hartford.

People

Matthew Beck

Matthew Beck was a lottery accountant and the attacker. He was 35.

After the killings, Beck was found dead at Hartford Hospital after committing suicide.

Victims

• Michael Logan, information services manager, 33
• Linda Mlynarczyk, chief financial officer and former one-term mayor of New Britain, 38
• Frederick Rubelmann III, vice president of operations, 40
• Otho Brown, lottery president and chief executive, 54

Investigation and law enforcement actions

Police officers closed in on Beck during the attack. A law enforcement source speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said Beck ran past a number of employees waving his gun before reaching Brown. The source said Brown was lying on his back with his hands up and pleading not to be shot, and that Beck responded by shooting him after Brown begged.

After the shootings, state police searched a garage and a pickup truck at Beck’s father’s home in Ledyard.

In January 1997, Cromwell police were called to Beck's apartment near the town center at the request of a “concerned party.” Capt. Tom Roohr said the person informed police that Beck “was displaying depression,” and wanted officers to make sure he was OK. Beck was not home at the time and surfaced later in Middletown with a friend.

Aftermath

Gov. John G. Rowland said: “The whole state mourns this unexplained act of violence.”

The building did not reopen immediately, and state workers cleaned up the offices to allow employees to return. Lottery employees were expected to attend funerals and wakes.

Donald Beck, Matthew Beck’s father, described Matthew’s actions as terribly wrong while reading a formal apology written to the victims’ families. Donald Beck said: “We offer our sincerest sympathy to all the families and apologize for Matt.”

Donald Beck also said: “I cannot ask you to forgive him, for we have not yet forgiven him for what he did.”

Donald Beck described his son as battling depression and said he had sought an emergency response after learning his son had overdosed on pills, stating that the doctors said, “Thank God that he lived.”

Other details

Several accounts discussed Beck’s workplace interactions and grievance history. Union officials said Beck had approached Rick Rubelmann in July 1996 about returning to work as an accountant.

Union steward Joseph Mudry said he got to know and like Beck during the grievance and that there were no signs Beck had hit a breaking point. Mudry also said Beck and Mudry had discussed back pay and had talked about UConn basketball. Mudry said: “There was no indication of anything being wrong,” and added: “He tried to work with management and do whatever he could for them.”

A supervisor, Karen Kalandyk, described Beck’s return to work, saying: “When he came back, he wasn’t the same Matt. He was like talking to a stone.”

During the attack, Karen Kalandyk said: “He walked in and put his hand up with the gun and said 'Bye, bye' to her and shot her three times.”

A witness, Gary Peltzer, described workers fleeing and said: “About five or six girls came running in our door, screaming hysterically: 'He's coming! He's coming! He's got a gun! Don't let him get us!' ”