First family member of Pittsburgh synagogue gunman takes the stand
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The defense resumed calling more witnesses in the final phase of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial.
The prosecution rested its case on Wednesday, and the defense began calling witnesses to the stand.
Dr. Katherine Porterfield spoke about the gunman's mental health issues and his troubled childhood on Wednesday and continued testimony on Thursday. Porterfield said the gunman had "multiple, severe chronic traumatic life events and circumstances that put him at risk for the development of serious mental illness."
Porterfield told the jurors on Wednesday that both of the gunman's parents threatened to kill him as a child and said that his childhood trauma matters and impacted what he considered "normal."
Also on Thursday, the jurors heard for the first time from a family member of Bowers.
Deanna Bowers, the gunman's aunt, flew to Pittsburgh from California to testify she married into the family, saying she married the gunman's uncle on his father's side. Deanna took the stand saying her husband, Wendell, often talked about him and his brother's rough childhood, saying she only met her nephew once many years ago.
During cross-examination, she admitted that her husband turned out to be a wonderful family man in spite of those childhood challenges.
The jury will need to decide if it wants to factor in the testimony offered by Porterfield, the hired psychologist who outlined every detail of the gunman's troubled past.
On Thursday, the jury learned that his father was abusive and committed suicide, his mother was hospitalized for depression, his maternal grandmother was an alcoholic, and his maternal grandfather was abusive to the grandmother.
She summed up her 23-page report by saying, "Bowers had multiple, severe chronic traumatic life events and circumstances that put him at risk for the development of serious mental illness."
Later saying, "Time and time again Robert did not get the care and intervention he needed, and his mental health deteriorated over the course of his life."
The jury is off Friday. Testimony picks back up Monday with that psychologist back on the stand.
The defense will try and show why his life should be spared with the jury soon to decide whether he will spend the rest of his life in prison or if he will be sentenced to death.
Last month, Bowers was found guilty of all 63 federal charges in the attack when he shot and killed 11 worshippers from three different congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash and New Light on Oct. 27, 2018. It was the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.
The three synagogue congregations are divided on whether the death penalty should be imposed as are some of the victims' families. But Jewish leaders said all are thankful for the jury's decision and look forward to testifying about the impact of the attack in the final sentencing phase of the trial.
Recapping victim impact statements
On Wednesday, the wife and son of victim Dan Stein took the stand and then, Michele Rosenthal, the sister of victims David and Cecil Rosenthal, talked about her two younger brothers.
Andrea Wedner summed up the loss she feels as a pain in all the small moments when talking about her mother, Rose Mallinger. "I'm haunted by what happened to me and by what I saw and what I heard that day," she told the jury.
The jury also heard victim impact statements from Dan Leger, who dropped from 145 pounds on the day of the shooting down to 110 pounds in the hospital. He couldn't even speak, and said he wrote to his wife on a piece of paper "let me go" because he thought he'd never recover from his injuries.
The brother-in-law of Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz took the stand on Tuesday, stating how his brother-in-law just wanted to help people, which is why he got into family medicine, saying that he would even make house calls after hours.
He added that many people in the family have changed their professions since the deadly shooting took place to do things to more directly help people, like Dr. Rabinowitz did.
Michelle Weiss, the daughter of the slain couple Sylvan and Bernice Simon, said she spoke with her mother every day and was asked what life is like without her.
"I lost my best friend, my confidant, lost my most important people in my life in one day," she said. "It's very hard for me to go on. We don't have holidays anymore, nothing is the same."
Anthony Feinberg, the son of Joyce Feinberg, called his mother "the central cog" in his family who has left such a void.
In earlier testimony, Margaret Durachko, the wife of Richard Gottfried, was the first of more than 20 family members to take the stand during this phase of the trial and testified of how her whole life was turned upside down following the mass shooting at the synagogue.
Diane Rosenthal, the sister of Cecil and David Rosenthal, testified that when they were diagnosed early with fragile X syndrome, her parents insisted they be raised at home with her and her sister Michelle rather than be put in an institution. The boys, she said, were a gift with an infectious joy for life which they spread throughout the neighborhood.
Testifying on videotape, Cecil and David Rosenthal's mother said she thanks God for her sons and couldn't be more proud to be their mother but now they are gone.
Support is available for those in need during the trial
If you or someone you know is experiencing mental health effects from the trial, go to 1027healingpartnership.org to find help resources. As always, call 911 to report threats.
Phone: 412-697-3534
Email: info@1027HealingPartnership.org
Website: 1027healingpartnership.org
More resources can be found here.