Doctor says crimes, disorder not linked

Richard S. Baumhammers was not in the grasp of the on-again, off-again delusional disorder that had burdened him since 1993 when he embarked on a shooting spree in April 2000, a forensic psychiatrist testified Sunday.

Dr. Michael Welner, testifying for the prosecution, said the disorder does not afflict all aspects of an individual's actions in the widespread manner that schizophrenia attacks people.

'These crimes were not the result of a psychotic illness,' Welner said during more than five hours of rebuttal testimony in a rare Sunday court session, held to help speed along the mass-killing trial in which the jury is sequestered.

Welner, who interviewed Baumhammers in March, testified he was arrogant, fixated on himself and lacks empathy.

'In our interview, he could not name five of the victims,' Welner said. 'I asked him, 'Who'd you shoot?' He could only name Anita Gordon.'

The prosecution is seeking first-degree murder verdicts and the death penalty against Baumhammers, 35, a suspended Mt. Lebanon attorney charged with killing five people and wounding another.

Defense attorneys say Baumhammers was driven by 'command hallucinations' that made him believe the federal government wanted him to kill minorities in order to discredit him.

Prosecutors say Baumhammers committed the shootings with a clear and logical mind and bragged about them afterward as he freely discussed his white-supremacist views.

The victims killed in the two-county shooting rampage April 28, 2000, were a Jewish woman, two Asian men, an Indian man and a black man. Another Indian man was left paralyzed.

Testimony will continue today in the Common Pleas courtroom of Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning.

Defense attorney William H. Difenderfer opened yesterday's proceedings by filing two motions asking for a mistrial.

In the first, the defense argued that Manning acted improperly by watching, with Deputy District Attorney Edward Borkowski, a videotaped television interview with a trial witness. The judge dismissed that motion.

In the second, Difenderfer contended that a headline in Saturday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review was prejudicial to the defense. Manning dismissed that motion as well after he questioned the jury and learned none had seen any headlines referring to the case while en route to the courtroom or in the hotel where they are sequestered.

Jurors listened to a long day of testimony from three psychiatrists, concluding with more than five hours from testimony from Welner.

Welner said Baumhammers' delusional disorder is marked by periods of having irrational ideas and not knowing right from wrong, interspersed with periods of lucidity.

In the months prior to the shootings, Baumhammers' parents noted no changes in their son while his chief concern was 'hooking up' with females, Welner said.

Despite Baumhammers' past complaints that the FBI was harassing him, he had no indication that any of his victims worked for the government, Welner said.

Welner said he read diaries kept by Baumhammers' mother, Inese, that indicated she was aware of her son's behavioral problems.

'After a blowup, he jars himself into a better condition,' she wrote.

'We have a very thin layer of skin over a pot full of bile,' she wrote. 'We really don't give him any stress at all ... one wrong look at him and he blows up.'

Welner also testified Baumhammers has a narcissistic persecution disorder, marked by a lack of empathy and a sense that he is better than others. Welner said Baumhammers' decision to shoot people came without any consideration of what would happen to his family, the victims, witnesses or the community at large.

Baumhammers also has an anti-social personality disorder, which is marked by breaking the rules and consistent irresponsibility for actions, Welner said.

'There's no indication he experienced remorse for anything,' Welner said.

Welner's testimony corresponded to that of a Mayview State Hospital psychiatrist who testified for the defense earlier in the day.

Dr. Lazlo Petras treated Baumhammers at Mayview after his arrest and said he came across at all times as a clear-thinking, logical and high-functioning man.

Petras was the first mental health expert to see Baumhammers after the shootings. The doctor said blood taken from the rampage suspect showed no traces of any anti-psychotic drugs, meaning that he had not taken anti-psychotic medications for at least two to three days prior to the shootings.

Without medication, he would be more susceptible to the delusions and hallucinations mental health experts say he suffers from.

Petras also testified that Baumhammers said during that first evaluation that he believed the government was after him.

Later, while Baumhammers was undergoing treatment and evaluation at Mayview from May to late July last year, he told Petras the government had poisoned him while he was traveling in Europe.

Under Borkowski's cross examination, Petras testified that when he interviewed Baumhammers at the Beaver County Jail, the two were in a small room crowded by uniformed and plainclothes officers. And yet, he found the flow of Baumhammers' thoughts to be logical, Petras said.

The two discussed travel in Eastern Europe and Baumhammers' interest in fine food and wines.

When Petras asked Baumhammers why he had been arrested, Baumhammers smiled and said, 'You tell me.'

But Baumhammers' memory was good, Petras said - so good that he reminded Petras to complete a certain procedure that the psychiatrist had begun during the evaluation then forgot.

Petras showed Baumhammers three objects and told him to try to remember them. He said he would ask about them near the end of the interview.

But, distracted by the officers and the high drama of the case, Petras forgot.

The interview completed, Baumhammers got to his feet and was ushered to the door. There he stopped and turned around to say, 'Doctor, you forgot to ask me about the three objects.'

'I asked him, and he did remember the three objects,' Petras said.

While at Mayview, Baumhammers refused to go to the recreation area because there were 'too many black people there,' Petras testified.

Further, Baumhammers played chess and taught others the complex strategy game, Petras said. He discussed the stock market with staff and presented himself as a neat and intelligent man, Petras said.

Petras said it was highly unlikely that Baumhammers could be paranoid schizophrenic because his ability to think rationally and care for himself as he traveled abroad was far beyond the ability of schizophrenics.

But under redirect questioning, Petras said Baumhammers' abilities were consistent with those of someone suffering from delusional disorder of a persecutory type - the mental illness his defense says he has.

The disorder only affects a certain portion of the patient's attention, Petras said, while schizophrenia affects all aspects of a patient's behavior and thought.

Christine Martone, a psychiatrist at the Allegheny County Jail, interviewed Baumhammers for two 45-minutes sessions May 2 and May 4 last year. She testified for the defense that she diagnosed Baumhammers as having paranoid schizophrenic symptoms and delusions.

Under cross-examination, she told prosecutors that she hadn't been able to consult Baumhammers' past medical history and that her diagnosis was limited to what Baumhammers told her.

Petras testified that a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia would require several more sources of information and an observance of recurring symptoms over a period of at least six months.

Ophthalmologist Diana Mervis also testified yesterday that Baumhammers visited her Downtown office in June 1999 and complained of problems with glare and light sensitivity. Mervis told the defense she found no abnormalities in Baumhammers' vision.

Mervis told prosecutors it was possible for a man of Baumhammers' age to have some deterioration of night vision or problems with glare, but that it was unlikely.

Chuck Plunkett Jr. can be reached at cplunkett@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7996. Jim Ritchie can be reached at jritchie@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7933.