I’m not guilty in horror
Pitt-slaughter fiend claims he’s innocent
The venomous anti-Semite accused of executing 11 Pittsburgh synagogue worshipers at a Sabbath service pleaded innocent Thursday in the bloody rampage.
“Yes!” barked suspect Robert Bowers in a loud voice when asked if he understood the 44-count indictment charging him with murder, hate crimes and other atrocities.
Bowers, in a red prison-issue jumpsuit, also acknowledged reading the lengthy legal document stemming from the deadliest anti-Semitic assault in U.S. history.
The stocky suspect with the salt-and-pepper hair frowned when the charges were read aloud — but appeared stoic as federal prosecutors announced he could face the death penalty for the hate-fueled carnage.
Bowers, who needed a wheelchair for his Monday court appearance, walked into court on his own five days after his arrest for the killing spree in the Tree of Life synagogue.
The suspect’s wounded left arm was still wrapped in bandages, the result of a firefight between Bowers and police officers responding to the mayhem in Pittsburgh’s historically Jewish Squirrel Hill neighborhood.
High school dropout Bowers remains held without bail, and public defender Michael Novara said his client’s not guilty plea was “typical at this stage of the proceeding.”
For a third straight day, Pittsburgh’s Jewish community gathered for funerals remembering the victims of the shooter who opened fire on a helpless crowd, most of them elderly.
The first service was held for Sylvan Simon, 86, and his 84-yearold wife Bernice — killed together 62 years after they were wed inside the Tree of Life. Their kids and grandkids gathered with hundreds of fellow mourners at Ralph Schugar Chapel in Shadyside.
Their son Marc Simon, remembering his parents, said their lives set a shining example that can “mitigate and eliminate the hate that led to their untimely deaths.”
A service followed in the same chapel for beloved local dentist Richard Gottfried. “He was a wonderful man,” said neighbor and friend Midge Beachem.
The city’s 911 operators, speaking Thursday, recounted the chaotic scene as the first call came in at 9:54 a.m. from the synagogue’s Rabbi Jeffrey Myers.
“Surreal, like it wasn’t happening,” recalled Bruce Carlton, who stayed on the phone with Myers until the gunfire ended. “Time seemed to speed up, time seemed to slow down."
Other operators recalled hearing the screams of the victims and the pop-pop-pop of gunfire upon picking up the phones. The last of the 11 funerals was set for Friday, honoring the oldest victim: Rose Mallinger, 97.
him.”