A Pasadena man who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia was found not criminally responsible Wednesday for killing his mother with a shotgun as she sat on the sofa watching television with her husband.
Zachary Neiman, 27, pleaded guilty to the July 2006 second-degree murder of his mother Rae Bajus, 53, and the attempted second-degree murder of his stepfather David Bajus, 56.
Neiman could have faced up to 30 years in prison for the murder alone, but Anne Arundel Circuit Judge Paul Hackner ruled that Neiman was incapable of understanding the criminality of his actions.
He will be committed to a secure facility under the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
David Bajus wiped tears from his eyes Wednesday as the prosecutor recounted the night of July 8, 2006, when Neiman came down the stairs and shot his mother in the back before turning on his stepfather.
“There were no words spoken. It just came out of the blue,” said prosecutor Pamela Alban.
“It seemed like Zachary had just lost it.”
The murder occurred just one week before Neiman’s scheduled appointment at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to address his symptoms of schizophrenia that surfaced in December 2006.
“He was hearing voices. One of the voices was a goddess and the other was from Saturn, and he would scream back at them,” Alban said.
Neiman’s parents had feared for their safety before the 2006 incident and taken Neiman to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center for treatment, Alban said, but he could not be forcibly admitted unless he was violent.
The voices in his head prompted Neiman to shoot his mother, said Neiman’s paternal grandmother Frances Pyles, of Easton, who was appointed as his guardian.
Neiman refused to eat or take his medication at the state psychiatric facility, the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, causing his doctors to find him incompetent to stand trial in August 2007.
But prosecutors resurrected the case in February when Neiman’s doctors reported he was eating again, proving his capacity to make responsible decisions.
Although Neiman was found competent, his doctors and the prosecutor said they felt he could not be held criminally responsible.
Neiman’s family declined comment.
