Defense seeks to exhume corpse of Pittsburgh synagogue shooter's father to verify paternity

Defense attorneys for the man found guilty of killing 11 people at a Squirrel Hill synagogue are seeking to have his father’s body exhumed to confirm paternity.

Robert Bowers, 50, of Baldwin, was found guilty of all 63 counts against him for the Oct. 27, 2018, attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Bowers. The same jury ruled that Bowers was eligible for the death penalty earlier this month.

In a motion filed Tuesday, the defense asked that the body of Randall G. Bowers, entombed in Shaler, be exhumed. The motion said Bowers’ father had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, and even the government’s expert acknowledged that schizophrenia runs in families. Randall Bowers died by suicide.

“The evidence establishes that there was serious mental illness on Mr. Bowers’ maternal side of the family. The evidence also establishes that Randall Bowers was diagnosed with schizophrenia,” the motion said. “Evidence establishing mental illness on Robert Bowers’ paternal side, particularly from a first-degree relative such as his father, strengthens the basis for concluding that Mr. Bowers too suffers from a serious mental illness.”

Despite the extensive documentation and historical evidence that Randall Bowers is the biological father of Robert Bowers, the government has interjected into the sentencing phase of the case its speculative theory that Randall Bowers is not the father of Robert Bowers, in order to undermine the genetic basis for the defendant’s mental illness.

“There can be no doubt that the question of paternity raised by the government’s cross-examination in this case is capable of definitive resolution through DNA testing,” the defense wrote in its motion.

The prosecution tried to instill doubt that Randall Bowers is the defendant’s father repeatedly during the cross-examination of Dr. Katherine Porterfield, who performed a psychosocial history on the defendant.

Porterfield testified that a neighbor she interviewed told her Robert Bowers’ mother was seeing several men around the time he was born. In addition, Bowers’ mother said that even she had questions about whether Randall Bowers was the father.

However, based on the documentation in the case, including Bowers’ birth certificate listing Randall Bowers as the father, as well as the family of Randall Bowers accepting Robert into the family, Porterfield testified that she worked from the premise that he is the father.

Tuesday was the 31st day of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial. The trial is now in the sentencing phase to determine if Bowers will receive the death penalty or life in prison.

There was no public discussion Tuesday on the motion and it’s unclear when it will be addressed.

Bruce Antkowiak, a law professor at Saint Vincent College, called the request “an interesting twist at this point in the proceedings.”

“The principle tenet of the defense is that this horrific act is not the result of inherent evil, but psychosis that this man has suffered from for many years,” Antkowiak said.

And part of that, he continued, is tracking Bower’s genetic history, including that he was predisposed to mental illness.

“You want to establish if his parents were, themselves, deeply psychotic or had some sort of deep, sincere emotional issue,” Antkowiak said.

The government now suggesting that Randall Bowers is not his father could severely impair that claim.

If U.S. District Judge Robert Colville denies the motion, the defense will claim unfair prejudice, which could lead to appeals later, Antkowiak said.

If Colville grants the motion, it would delay the trial.

“It becomes a real conundrum for the judge,” Antkowiak said.

He said he is especially curious what the government response will be.

“They could choose to concede paternity in front of the jury so it does not become an appealable issue, or they could say, let’s exhume him and do it in an expedited fashion,” Antkowiak said.

“It creates somewhat of a significant issue now,” he said. “The judge is in a tough position.”