psycho with a capital P

Did you know I am fascinated with murder mysteries? Not the made-up CSI stuff. I want to know about REAL LIFE crazies. I spend my time reading about their pasts and want to hear about their childhood. What made them this way? Did anyone see it coming? What do their family have to say?

This morning, I have been reading about Amy Bishop-- the neurobiologist at University of Alabama-Huntsville who shot and killed three of her colleges and wounded three others on Friday, Feb 12th. Bishop had recently been told she would not be granted tenure and brought a gun to a routine faculty meerting. Thankfully, her gun jammed during the shootings and the lives of other teachers were spared. Police arrested he on capital murder charges and she could be facing the death penalty.

The morning after the arrest, police in Braintree, MA, announced that Bishop "accidentally" shot her 18 year old brother in 1986. Reports say that she was asking how to load a shotgun when it fired, hitting her brother in the abdomen. She then fired a round of shots in the ceiling of her home, fled, pointed the gun at a motor vehicle to get the driver to stop, and was later arrested. Her mother testified that it was an accident and she was released on all charges. Reports state that the accidental ruling didn't sit well with the officers on scene.

In 1993, Bishop and her husband were questioned in the investigation of an attempted bombing of a Harvard Medical professor, Paul Rosenberg. A six inch pipe bomb was mailed to his home. He and his wife fled after seeing wires in the package. A bomb squad later detonated the bomb. Witnesses state that Bishop and Rosenberg had an argument before the attempted bombing. During the investigation, authorities searched the home of Bishop and found a draft novel written about a female scientist who killed her brother. Five years after the investigation, Bishop was cleared as a suspect in the attempted bombing. The case was closed and will not be reopened.

Another report states that in 2002, she got into a heated argument with a woman at a local IHOP. Apparently Bishop asked for a booster seat for her child and realized the last one had just been given to another customer. Bishop confronted the customer and demanded the seat. After a profanity-laced rant, Bishop punched her in the head while yelling "I am Dr. Amy Bishop.'' She plead not-guilty and was never convicted.

As crazy as this story is, what I find FASCINATING is that she is a mother of four children. Her husband claims he knew nothing about the fatal shootings at UAH, although he stated they went to a shooting range a couple of weeks ago. He stated that when he dropped her off at the University before the faculty meeting, he assumed they were still on for their Friday date night. After her arrest, she called him from jail and said, "I know you guys are obviously in shock." Then she inquired if their four children had done their homework.

This is what I spent my morning reading.... and now I must feed my kids. We were going to go to IHOP for breakfast, but I don't own a handgun and I'm afraid to leave the house. It amazes me that crazies like this are on the street and they can get hired at major Universities with such a background. This story definitely puts a new spin on the term "mad scientist."