On this day, Dec. 5, in 1980, Dr. Michael Halberstam, cardiologist and brother of Pulitizer Prize-winning journalist David Halberstam, was fatally shot at his Washington home by an escaped convict and master burglar. Halberstam, 48, was shot twice in the chest after he surprised Bernard C. Welch Jr. burglarizing his house in Northwest Washington. The physician tried to drive himself to a hospital, saw the gunman running in the street, swerved his car and struck and injured Welch. Minutes later, Halberstam’s car struck a tree and he lost consciousness. He died on the operating table.
Afterward, police searched Welch’s expensive home in Great Falls, and found millions of dollars worth of stolen property, more than 3,200 items. They also found two smelters where Welch had melted down stolen silver into ingots. The Smith & Wesson revolver used to kill Halberstam had been stolen from the home of an FBI agent.
Welch was sentenced to 143 years in prison.
Scott McCabe
