Joseph M. Harris

Case record: Joseph M. Harris

The offence

Joseph M. Harris committed a series of attacks after he was fired from his Postal Service job. He was armed with a 9-millimeter Uzi handgun, a .22-caliber machine gun with silencer, a samurai sword, three hand grenades, and homemade bombs, and he used a ninja-style hood, a gas mask, and a bulletproof vest.

He killed Carol Ott, her boyfriend Cornelius Kasten Jr., and two mail handlers at their home and at the Ridgewood post office. He then surrendered after a standoff with police in which he set off two small explosives.

Harris had earlier killed his former supervisor Carol Ott with a three-foot samurai sword and shot her fiance, Cornelius Kasten, in their home.

Background

Harris was a former U.S. postal worker who had been fired from his job in April 1990. He had a history of lifetime psychiatric problems and had been born in prison.

After his dismissal, Harris was fired from his job as the dispute with postal authorities escalated. Harris was later described as having a grudge against his ex-employer. Postal workers described him as quiet, tense, sullen, and ill-tempered.

Harris had also invested money with broker Roy Edwards and had learned he had lost as much as $10,000.

Harris dressed in a black ninja costume and had entered Edwards' Montville, New Jersey home and handcuffed the family. After sexually assaulting Edwards' wife and two daughters, he shot Edwards to death. Police did not consider Harris a suspect in Edwards’ death until after the mass slaying on October 10.

Harris’ lawyers argued that he was insane. They said he had told psychiatrists that he was driven by the “ninja spirit” to commit the crimes.

Investigation

A handwritten two-page letter complaining about postal authorities was left at Harris’ home. Passaic County Prosecutor Ronald Fava said of the note found in the home of 35-year-old Joseph M. Harris: “It generally expresses his dissatisfaction with the Postal Service.” He added: “He felt he was treated unfairly. It basically indicated that these people are going to pay. He was doing this as an act of revenge.”

Fava said the note referred to the massacre at an Oklahoma post office in August 1986.

The Ridgewood Police Chief, Frank C. Milliken, said: “The firing just brewed and churned and churned for 18 months.”

Investigators later found no explosives at either Ms. Ott’s home in Wayne or at the post office during the period when both places were cordoned off.

At about 7 A.M., the police found the device Harris had rigged to his front door at his apartment. Police had gone to the home earlier at about 3 A.M., but the owner refused to give a key to Harris’ apartment without a search warrant. The owner, Carmen Johnson, said: “If I did what the police asked me to do and I gave them the key, we would all be dead now.”

Arrest

Negotiators with the Bergen County SWAT team entered the building through a side door at 6:26 and emerged with Harris at about 6:50.

Harris surrendered quietly after about a half hour of negotiations. Joel Trella, chief of the Bergen County Police Department, said: “I think Mr. Harris came prepared to die.” He also said: “He was armed quite heavily -- more heavily than I’ve ever seen in my career.”

At the time of surrender, Harris was wearing a gas mask and bulletproof vest, and he was armed with a 9-millimeter Uzi handgun, a .22-caliber machine gun with silencer, a samurai sword, three hand grenades and homemade bombs.

Trial

Harris argued that he was insane, and his lawyers said he was driven by the “ninja spirit” to commit the crimes.

In 1992, Harris was convicted of both the Montville and Ridgewood attacks and was sentenced to death.

Sentencing

Harris was sentenced to death in 1992 and was sent to death row.

Appeals

Harris died in September 1996, two days before a New Jersey State Supreme Court battle to overturn its death-penalty law was to start.

Outcome

Harris died in prison in September 1996.

Aftermath

From 1983 to 1993, there were 11 murderous rampages in U.S. post offices.

On August 20, 1986, Pat Sherrill killed 14 mail workers, wounded another five, and then shot himself to death as the SWAT team arrived.