Neal Rosenblum was shot and killed on Thursday, April 17, 1986, by Steven M. Tielsch in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. The attack was motivated by

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

hate.

Background

Neal Rosenblum was the third of five children in an Orthodox Jewish family in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. He was a rabbinical and computer science student. He married Manya Weingarten of the

Squirrel Hill Squirrel Hill is a residential neighborhood in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The city officially divides it into two neighborhoods, Squirrel Hill North and Squirrel Hill South, but it is almost universally treated a ...

neighborhood of Pittsburgh in the spring of 1985. As a devout Orthodox Jew, he prayed three times daily, attending services at

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

or at Jewish schools.Alt URL
/ref> A month after their daughter was born, the family visited Mrs. Rosenblum's parents, intending to stay for Passover. Rosenblum was 24 or 25 years old at the time.

The murder and immediate aftermath

A few hours after arriving at his in-laws' house in Squirrel Hill, Rosenblum went to pray the evening services at the Kollel Bais Yitzchok Torah Institute Study Center. As he walked home from the synagogue, a car pulled up, and the passenger engaged him in conversation. The passenger then shot him five times. He was killed because of his Jewish appearance, wearing

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

attire such as a black fedora. Rosenblum was still conscious when emergency workers arrived, and he provided some details of the attack. He died about five hours later while in surgery at

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is a $23billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 92,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and do ...

. Investigators were unable to develop leads for 12 years.

Development of case

In 1988, Tielsch and Sanford Gordon shared a cell in the

Allegheny County Allegheny County () is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's seco ...

jail, both on separate

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

charges. Tielsch bragged that he had killed a Jew, and would often make antisemitic remarks and draw

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

s, a common antisemitic symbol, on himself. Gordon reported the information to the authorities, but they did not have enough evidence to make the case in 2000. At that time, the Cold Case Squad took over the investigation and got a corroborating witness. Twelve years after the original crime, police arrested the now 45-year-old killer.

Trials

Gordon was the star witness in all the trials. In the first three trials, an extensive roster of witnesses was used, many of them jailhouse informants or otherwise unsavory characters. For the fourth trial, the prosecutor streamlined the case, using more technologically advanced presentation such as PowerPoint and far fewer witnessess, concluding the proceedings in half the amount of time. Tielsch's leg

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...

of a swastika was not admitted into evidence. His attorney argued that it could not be proven that he had already had the swastika at the time of the murder. Tielsch's first three trials ended in a

deadlocked jury A hung jury, also called a deadlocked jury, is a judicial jury that cannot agree upon a verdict after extended deliberation and is unable to reach the required unanimity or supermajority. Hung jury usually results in the case being tried again. T ...

. He was convicted of third-degree murder in a fourth trial in 2002, with a sentence of 10 to 20 years. The judge in the latter trial, Lawrence O'Toole, declared that the jury was giving the defendant a break by limiting charges to 3rd degree murder. The

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme ...

upheld the decision in 2007. Tielsch was released from prison on October 23, 2017, after serving 15 years of the maximum 20.

Media

The prosecutorial doggedness in pursuing multiple trials generated controversy. The prosecutor explained it as due to the heinous nature of a hate crime, while the local newspaper rejected hate crimes as deserving special treatment. The newspaper's response drew public criticism. After the Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooting in 2018 that killed 11 and injured 6, major media revisited the Rosenblum murder, which was also an anti-Semitic shooting attack that took place in the same neighborhood, and one in which the shooter also had no relationship with the victim.

References