CASE WESTERN RESERVE Man guilty of murder in university shooting

Norman Wallace, a graduate student from Youngstown, was shot to death.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- A former graduate student was convicted Friday of all 196 counts, including the murder of Norman Wallace of Youngstown, in a seven-hour shooting rampage at Case Western Reserve University.
Biswanath Halder, 65, walked into the university's business school May 9, 2003, with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition because he believed a school computer lab employee hacked into his Web site devoted to helping fellow India natives form businesses.
Halder, originally from Calcutta, India, was convicted of aggravated murder. It took Judge Peggy Foley Jones two hours and 15 minutes to read all the guilty verdicts from a 3-inch binder.
The jury signed every one of the verdict forms, which included convictions for attempted murder, aggravated burglary and kidnapping. Earlier in the trial, the judge dismissed a terrorism charge.
"We appreciate the jury's thoughtful deliberation," said county Prosecutor Bill Mason. "While Halder's evil, calculating, murderous rampage cannot be undone, the jury has given the community and his victims the justice that may help them begin to heal."
Halder could be sentenced to death for the murder conviction, which also found him guilty of attempting to commit the mass murder of faculty members and police officers who arrived at the university during the siege.
The sentencing phase of the trial will begin Jan. 17 in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Murder victim's family
Halder killed Wallace, 30, of Youngstown, shortly after entering the building. Wallace, who came from a family of 11 children, was a promising student and president of the university's Black MBA Student Association.
Members of the Wallace family attended most of the trial but weren't present for the verdict. Wallace's brother, David, reached by phone in Columbus, said the family was pleased with the way the trial was handled but hoped to resolve some unanswered questions with Case Western Reserve University. He did not elaborate.
"We miss our brother very much," he said.
People in the business school on the day of the siege saw a gunman dressed in body armor, a wig and an Army helmet and carrying an automatic assault rifle, a semiautomatic handgun and ammunition while shooting randomly. A faculty member and another student were wounded.
Many hid, afraid to venture into hallways. Halder was captured by a Cleveland police SWAT team on the building's fifth floor, after a search that was complicated by the Peter B. Lewis Building's winding and dipping hallways.
University statement
Case Western Reserve University President Edward M. Hundert issued a statement on the verdict: "While the pain of this incident will never completely fade, we hope the jury's decision in this matter helps in the healing process and brings some level of peace to the university community and those who have been affected."
As the judge read the verdicts, Halder scrawled on a legal pad. At times, he buried his face in his left hand. He was dressed in a gray suit with a white shirt and red tie and wore a black wig, which had been approved by the court in a motion Halder's lawyers filed at his request.