Terry Ratzmann

Background

Terry Michael Ratzmann was an American mass murderer who killed seven members of the Living Church of God before committing suicide at a Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States in 2005.

Ratzmann previously lived with his mother and sister. Neighbors described him as quiet and devout. He was known as an avid gardener and shared homegrown produce with the church congregation. He kept a well-tended garden and used humane traps to catch and free squirrels that got in the yard. Neighbors said he set up traps to catch chipmunks but kept the animals alive and let them loose somewhere else. He did not like killing small animals and was described as “He couldn't even kill a chipmunk. He was that kind of individual,” said Gene Herrmann.

Ratzmann worked as a computer technician with a placement firm and was on the verge of losing his job. Friends and acquaintances described him as depressed. A woman who was sitting at the front of the room during the Saturday service said: “Terry suffered from depression, on and off. When he was really depressed he didn't talk to people. Sometimes it was worse than others,” said Kathleen Wollin, 66.

Investigators said Ratzmann left no suicide note and gave no explanation for the killings. Police also said they did not know why he opened fire and that they were still investigating; police said they did not yet understand his motive. A friend of Ratzmann was described as saying the police search was ongoing and that investigators did not yet have a clear motive.

Ratzmann was reportedly infuriated by a sermon the minister had given two weeks earlier. Ratzmann walked out of a church meeting about two weeks earlier, apparently upset about a sermon. Church members and relatives told authorities that he was facing employment issues and that his employment might be “coming to an end, or was scheduled to end, in the very near future.”

Ratzmann had previously talked about being depressed and suicidal about a decade earlier. A church spokesman, Thomas Geiger, said: “I submit it's a miracle this guy lasted as long as he did,” and also said: “We hovered over him very closely at the time,” and “The brethren were stabilizers for the man.”

A medical examiner’s report said that Ratzmann was living with his mother and that she stated that he did not seem suicidal but was depressed about his job situation and was not pleased with his church; the report stated that “She stated that her son did not agree with the new pastor's point of view, but didn't harp on it.”

The offence

On the day of the shootings, Ratzmann entered the room at the Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, where the Living Church of God held a church service. The service was underway about 20 or 30 minutes when the shots rang out. Before the shooting, Ratzmann had left the Sheraton Hotel building twenty minutes earlier and then returned carrying a 9mm handgun.

Ratzmann fired 22 rounds into the Living Church of God congregation. During the shooting, he shot and killed the minister and six others. Four others were wounded; one was critically wounded. Ratzmann shot and killed himself midway through the second out of three magazines. He was reported to have spoken aloud to the congregation during the shooting, telling worshippers that he had brought 3 clips of ammunition and intended to kill the entire congregation.

A church member who survived by diving under a chair recalled: “I just remember crawling on the carpet and just praying, screaming out and praying,” said Chandra Frazier in a broadcast interview on Sunday. A neighbor’s account of the shooting included: “He planned to shoot us all,” said Chandra Frazier, a woman attending the Living Church of God gathering.

Police Chief Daniel Tushaus said: “He reloaded the gun once during the exchange of gunfire and then, as witnesses reported to us, shot himself once in the head.”

A witness account described Ratzmann’s movement through the rows; one account stated that “going up and down the rows.” Police Capt. Phil Horter said: “Stop, stop, why?” and described that one of Ratzmann’s friends begged him to stop, calling him by name.

Victims

Pastor Randy Gregory, 50, was killed. James Gregory, 17, was killed. Harold Diekmeier, 74, was killed. Gloria Critari, 55, was killed. Bart Oliver, 15, was killed. Richard Reeves, 58, was killed. Gerald Miller, 44, was killed.

Additional people were reported wounded and hospitalized: Marjean Gregory, 52, was hospitalized in critical condition. Matthew P. Kaulbach, 21, was hospitalized in satisfactory condition. Angel M. Varichak, 19, was hospitalized in satisfactory condition. A 10-year-old girl identified as Lindsay was hospitalized. Two additional people were reported hospitalized as well: “a 20-year-old woman, a 20-year-old man and the 10-year-old girl also were hospitalized,” and that 10-year-old girl was later identified as Lindsay.

Investigation

Police said the investigation was in its infancy. Police Capt. Phil Horter said they did not know why Ratzmann did it and that there was nothing in his background “that would jump out, as to why he would have done this.” Police Capt. Phil Horter also said: “Stop, stop, why?” was directed at Ratzmann by a friend during the shooting.

Police executed a search warrant at Ratzmann’s home. Authorities seized three computers, a .22-caliber rifle, a box of bullets, and what police believed were remaining bullets. Police said: “There is no evidence to lead us to any other suspect or individual,” and “We have no evidence of a conspiracy or any organized plan,” said Police Chief Daniel Tushaus.

The March 13 autopsy revealed medical conditions and injuries: Hashimoto's thyroiditis. A mild congenital heart abnormality. Ratzmann was missing part of three fingers on his left hand, the result of a much earlier injury.

Arrest

No arrest was described. Ratzmann died by suicide.

Trial

No trial was described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Ratzmann committed suicide by shooting himself the same day after killing seven members of the Living Church of God at a Sheraton Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, United States in 2005.

The church said it was cooperating with authorities and posted a statement: “This is a terrible tragedy,” and “We are cooperating with the authorities to find out what happened.”

Aftermath

A memorial was set up outside the hotel. About 10 people attended a candlelight prayer service Sunday night outside the hotel. The makeshift memorial included over 40 bouquets of flowers and 20 stuffed animals laid out in front of seven white crosses, each cross bearing a victim’s name and age. An eighth cross bearing Ratzmann’s name was separated from the others and leaned against a tree.

A trauma physician said three survivors were expected to make a full recovery. The wife of an Illinois minister killed during the shootings remained in critical condition, and a fourth gunshot survivor, a ten-year-old girl, was released from Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Two young people were in stable condition at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital.

Ratzmann’s desire to be buried at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove would not be fulfilled due to a federal provision prohibiting anyone who had committed a capital offense or the equivalent from being buried at the cemetery. A private funeral service was to be held for Ratzmann, according to Alstadt-Tyborski McLeod Funeral Service.

A surviving son of Pastor Randy Gregory, Jonathan Gregory, posted an Internet letter to church members. The letter stated that his mother, Marjean Gregory, was “making a miraculous recovery.” It also stated that an operating room nurse initially reported that she had died, and that “A bullet pierced a lung and her lower abdomen, and she remains on a ventilator, according to her son.”

Other details

Ratzmann was described in neighbor accounts as “average Joe.” Shane Colwell said: “He was a completely average guy,” and also said: “He wasn't a dark guy. He was average Joe,” and “It's not like he ever pushed his beliefs on anyone else.” Another neighbor described him as average Joe and quiet and devout.

Gene Herrmann said: “He couldn't even kill a chipmunk. He was that kind of individual,” and described that he kept animals alive.

Some accounts said Ratzmann dropped a magazine of ammunition and reloaded another. Police described that Ratzmann stopped to reload his handgun during the assault.

Ratzmann was reported to have uttered nothing before pulling out the gun. Another account said he did speak, telling worshippers about ammunition and his intention to kill all of them.

Police said Ratzmann was one of five people pronounced dead at the scene, and three more died later at a hospital.

There were reports of frantic emergency calls. One woman identified as Carol told a 911 dispatcher: “My friend, she's lying on the floor! I think she's dead!” Another said: “Oh, this is awful. This is a massacre.”

Ratzmann’s funeral location for Bart Oliver was changed to Country Springs Hotel in Waukesha at 7 p.m. Friday, according to one report.

Statements about personal relationships and grief included a longer interview with Terry Ratzmann’s friend Tom Geiger, 56, of Sullivan, who discussed being haunted by driving past the Sheraton. Geiger said: “I’m haunted by just driving past there,” and also said: “I wanted to explain is there’s no way to make the pain go away.” He also said: “It’s just a matter of dealing with it and recognizing that we can’t change it and there’s going to be a hole in our lives for the rest of our lives.” Geiger further stated: “We’re always going to miss Bart (Oliver), and we’re going to miss all the other ones, all the other people that we knew and loved that we lost, including Terry.”

Geiger described the motivation through religious language and said: “Terry was a casualty of a terrible spiritual war, as were the others.” He also said: “The individual who walked into the back of that church service and gunned down his brothers and sisters and children that he knew and saw grow up was not Terry Ratzmann.” He added: “He was evil personified.” Geiger said: “He was consumed.”

Geiger said that Terry wasn’t open in asking for help and described depression as internalized.

A separate account described Ratzmann’s past history and church background. It said he joined the U.S. Coast Guard in June 1978 and was honorably discharged in June 1982. It said he bought a .22-caliber rifle on July 3, 1982. It said that in the early 1980s, Janet and Terry Brantzeg began seeing him at gatherings of the Worldwide Church of God, and that he became engrossed in church outings. It said he later joined a splinter group formed by Roderick Meredith that adhered to original teachings.

Another account said a federal provision prohibited burial at the cemetery.

Police say Ratzmann bought the 9 mm Beretta used in the killings last June. A church member said Ratzmann had kept a gun under his pillow during an earlier period of suicidal feelings and that church members supported him then.

A neighbor named Toni D’Amore, 47, said Gregory moved his family from Texas to Gurnee, Ill., five years earlier.

A spokesman and others commented on sermon content. J.D. Crockett III said: “Our sermons are played in congregations all over the world. I know of no outcry over this one.” Another quotation attributed to Living Church of God leadership included: “We are not talking about decades in the future. We are talking about Bible prophecies that will intensify within the next five to 15 years of your life,” in a church magazine called Tomorrow's World written by Dr. Roderick C. Meredith.

One account quoted: “I don't know of anything that would trigger this sort of response,” from J.D. Crockett III.

A person named Ralph Edwards, 69, was quoted describing the shooting as: “It was just mechanical and his face was just, it was like he was in a trance,” and “His eyes were black.”

A man identified as Don Free said of Angel Varichak: “I wanted to know where God was when this happened,” and “He was supposed to be everywhere. He could have at least been there.”

A quote from the church’s Charlotte, North Carolina-based Web site was: “This is a terrible tragedy,” and “We are cooperating with the authorities to find out what happened.”

In one narrative, police said Ratzmann was not known to have threatened anyone and had no criminal record. It also said: “Police say Ratzmann had no criminal record and no known history of having made threats against anyone.”

An account said Ratzmann’s friend Thomas Geiger said Ratzmann had an inappropriately angry response to a joking comment, with Geiger saying: “He looked away, his face got red, and he clenched his jaw,” and “he turned away without saying anything.”

Additional hospital and recovery statements included: “A trauma physician says three survivors of the shooting rampage at a hotel in Wisconsin are expected to make a full recovery.”