DA Seeks Inquest in 1986 Bishop Shooting
A Massachusetts prosecutor is calling for an inquest into the 1986 investigation of Amy Bishop's fatal shooting of her 18-year-old brother.
When Bishop killed her brother with a shotgun blast, authorities waited more than a week to question family members and the death was ultimately ruled an accident.
Norfolk District Attorney William Keating says the closed inquest before a judge would allow him to compel testimony from Bishop's parents. Bishop and her mother were the only witnesses to the 1986 shooting.
Bishop is accused of killing three faculty colleagues in a shooting Feb. 12 at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
In the days since the Alabama shooting, revelations about Amy Bishop's past have raised questions about whether much of the violence could have been prevented. Police said last week that Bishop was charged with assault, battery and disorderly conduct after a 2002 tirade at the International House of Pancakes in Peabody, Mass.
Peabody police Capt. Dennis Bonaiuto said that Bishop became incensed when she found out another woman had received the restaurant's last booster seat. Bishop hit the woman while shouting, "I am Dr. Amy Bishop," according to the police report.
Bonaiuto said Bishop admitted to the assault in court, and the case was adjudicated - meaning the charges were eventually dismissed.
Students at the University of Alabama-Huntsville said they signed a petition and complained to no avail about the classroom conduct of Bishop. The students told The Associated Press they went to administrators at least three times a year ago, complaining that she was ineffective in the classroom and had odd, unsettling ways.
Bishop was denied tenure by the university, and she was vocal among colleagues about her displeasure over being forced to look for work elsewhere after this semester.
Her court-appointed attorney, Roy W. Miller, said last week that she can't remember the shootings. Miller told the Associated Press that his client has severe mental problems that appear to be paranoid schizophrenia.
Photos: Campus Shooting in Alabama
Ex-DA: Limited Memory of '86 Bishop Case