Amy Bishop Now Charged with Murder in Brother's 1986 Death;Professor Already Accused of Killing 3 Colleagues
BRAINTREE, Mass. (CBS/WBZ) Amy Bishop is now being charged with first degree murder in the 1986 shooting death of her brother, Seth, in their family's home in Braintree, Mass., a Boston suburb.
Prosecutors asked for a review of the case after the 45-year-old biology professor allegedly shot and killed three of her colleagues at the University of Alabama-Huntsville in February.
It had always been known that Bishop shot her 18-year-old brother in 1986.
The shooting had originally been ruled an accident, but prosecutors say police never told the district attorney's office that after she shot her brother she tried to commandeer a getaway car at gunpoint and she refused to drop her gun until officers ordered her repeatedly to do so.
Bishop's mother, Judith Bishop, was the only eyewitness to the shooting, and told police at the time that the gun accidentally went off when Amy was trying to unload their father's shotgun.
Retired Braintree police chief John Polio has said he was not sure why prosecutors had never received the reports in the case, and there was not a cover-up.
Polio told the Associated Press at the beginning of the month that he and his wife, who worked as an administrator at the police department, were subpoenaed to testify to a Norfolk County grand jury in the case.
John Kivlan, who was the top assistant prosecutor on the case, has said the state police report given to prosecutors concluded that Bishop had accidentally shot her brother and that no charges were warranted.
The former prosecutor, who testified at a recent inquest after the case was reopened, has said publicly that if he had known about Amy Bishop's actions after her brother's shooting, that would have triggered a grand jury investigation.
Norfolk District Attorney William Keating said Bishop could have also faced charges after brandishing a gun at car dealership employees and a police officer.
"Because of those actions, charges could have been brought forth on idea of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, however that statute of limitations (six years) bars that," he explained.
Story Contributed by CBS Affiliate WBZ
