The voice of defendant Robert Bowers was heard for the first time during his trial today.
Bowers is being tried on 63 federal counts stemming from the shooting on Oct. 27, 2018 that resulted in the death of 11 Jewish worshipers and injured six other worshipers and police officers.
Bowers’ voice could be heard during a video recording made as four medics carried him, in handcuffs and on a stretcher, down the back of a fire escape of the Tree of Life Synagogue. Bowers had been injured in a shootout with Pittsburgh Police SWAT officers.
Bowers was talking with Pittsburgh paramedic Shawn Eigenbrode, who asked Bowers about a green clock that had been found on the scene of the shooting. Eigenbrode testified that police officers were worried that the clock might be connected to an explosive device that could still cause harm, but Bowers told him that it was just a trucker’s alarm clock.
Michael O’Keefe, the tactical commander for Allegheny County Police, later testified that the “greenie meanie” had 11:40 displayed on it. O’Keefe said that worried him because the actual time of day was approaching 11:40 a.m. when Bowers was apprehended. O’Keefe said he worried it could be an explosive of some kind.
At one point, Bowers sounded sarcastic when talking with medics about how they were treating his injuries, O’Keefe testified. But during the video played during the trial of Bowers talking to Eigenbrode, there was little emotion evident in Bowers’ voice.
O’Keefe was standing next to Bowers as he crawled out of a classroom where he had been injured during the shootout and surrendered. He said he heard Bowers speak then. “He said that the invaders were coming, that the Jews were killing our children and that he had to take action,” O’Keefe testified.
Mandy Tinkey, the laboratory director for the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office, also identified photographs of the bodies of all 11 victims during her testimony Wednesday afternoon.
The prosecution briefly showed photos of the bodies as they were found on the day of the shooting, with evidence of the violent nature of their deaths apparent next to their bodies. Tinkey spoke each of the victim’s names as the photos appeared on courtroom screens.
Later in the afternoon, Pittsburgh SWAT officer Justin Lapaglia testified that he entered the building without his full protective gear because he arrived before the SWAT van with his equipment arrived. During his testimony, prosecutors played body camera footage from another officer that showed the path he took through the synagogue, noting bullet holes that marked the path of the shooter from the synagogue and down the stairs while the officer stepped over and around bodies with pools of blood.
“They appeared all to be deceased,” Lapaglia said, his voice briefly cracking on the stand.
