Killer Thought Victim ‘Evil,’ Witness Says

The Uzbek immigrant who killed his former boss in a workplace shooting two years ago could not separate fantasy from reality and blamed the computer executive for shattering his American dream, a psychologist testified Tuesday.

Mikhail Khaimchayev considered Sheldon Snyder “the embodiment of evil,” said Maura Mitrushina, chairwoman of the psychology department at Cal State Northridge. “He was the person who kept him from succeeding in America.”

Khaimchayev walked into Postal Innovations on Jan. 13, 1999, and shot Snyder nine times, then wounded himself. That was seven months after Khaimchayev had lost his job as a computer programmer at the Camarillo company.

Khaimchayev, 31, is accused of first-degree murder in a Ventura County Superior Court trial and faces a maximum sentence of 50 years to life in prison.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Bob Calvert has presented evidence he says shows Khaimchayev was upset about losing his job and planned to kill Snyder. He bought the 9-millimeter gun in August 1998 and the bullets in November, two months before the shooting, prosecutors said.

Deputy Public Defender Howard Asher admits his client killed Snyder but has asked the jury to consider a finding of second-degree murder, based on Khaimchayev’s emotional and psychological problems.

Khaimchayev was diagnosed as psychotic in July 1999, and a judge ruled the defendant was incompetent to stand trial. He spent a year in a mental hospital before becoming capable of understanding the proceedings.

Mitrushina, the only defense witness, said the defendant talked quickly and appeared extremely anxious during their jailhouse conversation in May 1999, ignoring questions and jumping from one topic to another. He showed signs of both psychosis and post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.

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But Mitrushina acknowledged to Calvert she did not conduct any psychological tests and did not ask jail doctors if Khaimchayev was on any medication at the time of the interview.

Calvert also confronted her about misstating dates in her reports and not verifying the information she received from her interviews. For instance, when Khaimchayev said he bought a gun because his hobby was target-shooting, Mitrushina did not check whether he had ever used the gun for that purpose.

Mitrushina, who has never previously testified in a criminal case, said she did not administer any psychological tests because she didn’t believe the results would be valid. She said Khaimchayev’s English skills were weak and his responses to her interview questions were irrational. But Mitrushina said she did not return to the jail later to determine whether Khaimchayev was able to undergo testing.

And Mitrushina said she did not check whether Khaimchayev was taking medications because she did not have access to doctors at the time and because he did not appear to be under the influence of drugs.

During her testimony, Mitrushina presented Khaimchayev’s life story, gathered from interviews with him and his family. He was raised in Uzbekistan, where he felt like an outsider because he grew up as part of a Jewish family surrounded by Muslims, she said.

He was a sensitive child who had difficulty adjusting to new environments, she said. When he got older, Khaimchayev was diagnosed with and treated for depression, and he attempted suicide more than once, according to his brother, Boris. Mitrushina said his parents both suffered from schizophrenia, were unable to work and needed supervision.

The family moved to the United States in 1996 because of religious persecution and settled in a Russian neighborhood in Hollywood, she said.

“The situation of a new immigrant is stressful by its own nature,” she said. “In addition to these stresses . . . Mikhail Khaimchayev had to endure the stresses of taking care of his parents.”

Khaimchayev found work at Postal Innovations in April 1998. But when he was fired before his three-month probationary period had ended, he could not understand why, Mitrushina said. He had been trained as a computer programmer and believed he spoke perfect English, she said.

“He overvalued his own worth,” Mitrushina said. “He did not see his own limitations.”

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Khaimchayev tried to find other work and repeatedly requested to be rehired at Postal Innovations, but the company said it did not have a place for him. Khaimchayev saw that as the “end of the world,” said Mitrushina, adding that he reacted with “extreme action.” He shot Snyder and confessed to three people that he did so because the executive would not give him work, according to testimony.

In his pocket he left a letter titled, “Why,” which blamed Snyder and Postal Innovations for breaking promises and ruining his life.

During the interview with Mitrushina, conducted in Russian, Khaimchayev told her he could not remember anything about the shooting. He also did not seem to understand the gravity of what he had done or the possible consequences of his actions, she said.

Closing arguments are scheduled this morning before Judge Herbert Curtis.