A judge denied bond Monday to a 25-year-old Pasadena man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death Saturday of his mother, while police and friends continued to search for a motive.
Zachary Thomas Neiman appeared before District Court Judge James Dryden via closed-circuit television from the Anne Arundel County Detention Center. Unshaven and dressed in a blue prison uniform, Neiman objected when his public defender asked for a preliminary hearing.
After assurances from his lawyer that a hearing was in his “best interest,” Neiman agreed to one, saying he “didn?t want to offend the attorney.”
Funeral services for his mother, Rae Neiman Bajus, are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday at Severna Park Evangelical Presbyterian Church.
Barry Smith, executive pastor at the church, said Rae Bajus and her husband were regular churchgoers; David Bajus, Neiman?s stepfather, serves as a deacon.
“Whatever was needed, they were there,” said Smith, who said Neiman occasionally came to church. Smith said he knew Neiman had struggled with drugs, but said he was not aware of any mental health problems.
David Bajus told Anne Arundel County police investigators that he and his wife had recently been worried about Neiman?s mental state.
Including Saturday?s shooting, six homicides have been committed in five separate incidents in Anne Arundel County this year, according to police statistics. Anne Arundel County police spokesman David Waltemeyer said those numbers included deaths that resulted from domestic violence, child abuse, fights and arguments between friends as well as drug-related deaths.
Rae Bajus, 53, was sitting at home on the sofa with her husband about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when Neiman entered the room and shot her twice in the upper body with a shotgun, police said. David Bajus called police from a neighbor?s house. Rae Bajus was transported to Baltimore/Washington Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Reporter Rachel Seeman contributed to this report.
