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Shooting Suspect Plotted To Kill East Village Man For 15 Months
By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 5, 2011
Modified Jul 6, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jul 5, 2011
Modified Jul 6, 2011
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After a dramatic standoff that involved percussion bombs and tear gas, the man suspected of killing two people and wounding three others in a Pennsylvania weekend home owned by an New York couple was killed by a SWAT team in Trainer, Pennsylvania yesterday. Mark Geisenheyner, 51, apparently knew Paul Shay, an East Village resident, and was unhappy about not getting his cut of an insurance fraud scam. Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said, "What we’ve learned through the investigation is that, for the past 15 months or so, Mark Geisenheyner had been planning to break into this home, to steal and to kill Paul Shay."
Shay, 64, suffered a critical injury after being shot in the head; his nephew Joseph Shay, 43, and 2-year-old Gregory Erdmann were killed after also being shot in the head (Geisenheyner allegedly shot all the victims in the head). Reports say that prospects for his wife, Monica, 58, are not looking good; Erdmann's mother, Kathryn, managed to call 911 about the shooting, distraught about her son. Another Montgomery County prosecutor said, "[Geisenheyner] puts the gun and shot the 2-year-old, who was asleep in a bed, and he shot the child in the back of the head."
One of the survivors told police that Geisenheyner, who has a "long criminal history" in many states, said, "Guess you never thought you'd see me again," to Paul Shay, who had a plumbing business in Brooklyn. According to the Post:
The alleged insurance fraud that incited his murderous rage began in 2006, when Paul Shay reported an arson at his house in Bechtelsville, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, the Pottstown Mercury reported.
Some weeks later, Paul Shay filed an insurance claim for several items lost in the fire, including a painting -- which cops eventually found in Geisenheyner's possession.
Not only did Geisenheyner end up in prison on a charge of possessing stolen property because of the painting, but he was angry at Shay because he never got his share of the insurance payout over it in the first place, the newspaper said.
Court records in New York show Paul Shay owed thousands to credit-card companies around the time of the fire. It's not clear if either he or Geisenheyner was implicated in the alleged insurance fraud.
After the shooting, Geisenheyner went to a friend's house and allegedly admitted his role in the killings. When Geisenheyner was asleep, the friend left and called the police, who surrounded the home.
Monica Shay is a professor at Pratt and she and her husband were described as a East Village fixtures; a neighbor told the Daily News, "She was a very serious figure in the community. She was a real community-minded person, a very serious presence in the neighborhood," and the Post reports, "Paul Shay was known for helping troubled youths and adults by sharing his skills as a plumber," and the Times says, "He took part in battles that shaped the East Village over the past 20 years, neighbors said, and sided with squatters who took over abandoned city-owned buildings, helping to unclog drains and connect waste pipes to make them habitable, often at no charge. And when a homeless encampment was erected in Tompkins Square Park, the Shays encouraged park inhabitants to resist city efforts to dislodge them."
Tagged
east village
joseph shay
Mark Geisenheyner
monica shay
paul shay
pennsylvania
shooting
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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