1980_03 The Daily Collegian March 1980

              *?VJ.
M,
Conrad
continued from page 1
He lives with his parents in a three-
acre country home on the outskirts of
Fresno. He is taking correspondence
ratines from, San Francisco State Univ-
. ersity to learn.about horticulture, archi¬
tecture and landscaping. ' - •
He has regained almost ail his vision
and, through extensive physical therapy,
has adjusted to the paralysia on his
leftside. He can now walk with the aid of
a. cane, although the left leg is moved
only through conscious effort. He moves
slowly because he has little sense of bal-
' ance and must pay special attention to
the ground. His left cheek,  he says.
. feels like it is shot full of Novocain.
When he talks, the left side of his mouth
is slow, seemingly reluctant, to move.
He cannot taste things and has
trouble judging hot and cold food. He
has burned the inside of bis mouth raw'
before, and how waits until everything
is completely cooled before eating.
i Conrad is waiting for a settlement in
a Workman' s Compensation suit against
PG&E, and wants to open ids own bus¬
iness.
"I want to open a garden center or
nursery, or work with handicapped kids
or one's with neurological problems. I
want to offer them a strong support
base. That reduces -the handicap by
Mpercent.*
Looking back oh that tragic Sunday in
April of 1974, Conrad doesn't comple¬
tely rule out the possibility that be may
have killed his daughters, but he doesn't
think it is very likely that he did.
"1 had no reason to do what they said
I did,* ssid Conrad. "I had been married
for nine years at the point and we were
very much in love. We bad no problems
with jealousies between us. My wife was
totally liberated. She has been working
since we were married. We were better
off financially than at any other time."
Conrad ssid he waa rising on the cor¬
porate iadder of Pacific Gaa and Electric
Company where he had been employed
since 1968. He was working through the
Oakland office where he supervised
27 men.
"All our needs were met, both emo¬
tionally and financially. It makes It very
difficult for me to understand some of
ti-t-ngsthatlwMtoldwsnton.*
Conrad said he hat i^membered
washing his car on Saturday with his
three girls. The rest of that day and all of
Sunday remain a mysteiy to him. The
next thing 1 knew, I was in a rnilKon
irfecesleying on my back.* It was about
8:30 Sunday morning and Conrad was
downstairs in his two-atory San Fran¬
cisco home on 29— Avenue. His daugh-
ters Deanne, 7, and Angela, B, were with
him. The large recreation room had been
redecorated and converted into a bed¬
room for him and his wife. A thick gold
shag carpeting stretched across the
floor. Paneling and a fresh coat of paint
finished the decor.
His wife, he would learn, had left for
her usual trip to the hairdressers. Why
he and his two. daughters were down¬
stairs that morning he doesn't remem¬
ber, although he said he flunks they
were probably playing together.
Conrad's 13-year-old step-daughter
Renee and his mother-in-lsw were up¬
stairs.   They   reportedly   beard   two
Trie next thing I knew,
I was in a million pieces
laying on my back'
gun shots, a pause, some 'light* foot¬
steps snd then a third shot. Going down¬
stairs to investigate, they found Conrad
sprawled out on his back with a .38 cali¬
ber gun near his left hand. His oldest
daughter was near him, and Angela was
found at the foot of the stairway.
Conrad theorizes that an intruder en¬
tered his home through an unlocked
window and shot him snd Deanne, then
fired at Angela as she tried to escape.
*I had a collection of lour pistols,*
said Conrad. "They were all fairly easily
accessible.* He ssid he usually kept at
least one of the guns in the trunk of his
car,, especially when he was commut¬
ing to Oakland to work. The net of the
guns he kept in a case in the garage, on
top of a6W-foot high portable closet.
1 think the police didn't make much
of an investigation. They said it was my
weapon, but I haven't seen it.*
Conrad was never indicted by the
grand jury because of insu—_ent evi¬
dence sunounding the case. However,
he had to stand trial on two counts of
first degree murder.   -
II
V
at
March
Phoenix West
4277 N. West Ave.
"■ *1 was never so scared in all my Ufa.
Ah* these people were dee-tag where
1 waa going to spend tha net of hi j Bfe.
I was out of eontrolof my own destiny."
Because of Ms "naivety* of the jud¬
icial system, Conrad agreed with the chs-
trict stttorney to plead 'no contest' and
accept a veixlict of 'not guilty by reason
ofineanity.'
"At first I said I'd never go along with
it,' remembered Conrad. 'But it was
explained, 'what if a jury convicts you-
regardlesa of facta or evidence?" It waa
a distinct poasibility. I would have had
two choices then: the gaa chamber or
prison forever.
'So, t had to eat a little humble pie
and eat some crow. To me the choices
were very dear. There waan't any other
way to go. I went the cuckoo route."
A psychiatrist who had examined Con¬
rad testified thst, although Conrad was
sane, now, he waa 'insane without any
doubt   when   the   tragedy   occured.'
The psychiatrist explained Conrad's
cwiitition as psychotic aggravated
depression which results from a series of
continued failures. The doctor said that
the shocki of the butlet pierdilg Comrat1 's
brain was so dramatic that he could have
recovered, ss he did, or become hope¬
lessly psychotic.
After plea-bargaining his case, Con¬
rad was told by his attorney that he
would be sent to a mental institution for
a 90-day evaluation. After that, he was
to be released without having a felony
on his record, and that would be the end.
ot his case.
However, he ended up spending
18 months at the institution despite his
family's attempts to free him. And it
was not untO after he was institutional¬
ized that he learned of evidence suppor¬
ting his case:
-No fingerprints st all were ever
found on the gun used in the shootings.
earn
_A pan—On toat had —It been eondue-
■ tod to rlwwuilni whs—aatornot he had
actually find the gun. The test checks
for traces of gun powder or burns on the  '
akin.
—The gun was ft—i— seven to eight
inches away from his left hand. He was*
right-handed.
-The angle st which the buflst era-red
hia head was nearly impoasibIs for him
to -Diet, he said. Tha bullet six-red at
the top of his head, traveled diagonally
—rough his brain snd came"to rest in the
back of his skull.
-After combing the house, inspectors
temnyA ears entie^r)m eeea—
-O-rad's father, Bernie/ said that
from the time his son was taken to the
hospita1 to the following morning,
he was scree—-ig far help. *lf you're
gobig to —__dt suicide, you don't yell
for help," he ssid.
Phil Conrad said it is jnirenrtant to
understand what was hspponing in the
dty during the time of the incident.
It was the period of the 'Zebra* shoot¬
ings, when a group of young milwants
were ha—ttrimrn story srerenong white
people.
It was also during the period of the
first Arab oU embargo. 'Gas was hard to
get. People ewe awfully mad.*
Conrad aaid he was atop receiving
death threats just about every day, since
his job involved dispatching men who
would terminate service to customers
with delinquent bills.
He had been working in the Oakland
office for three months as s credit super¬
visor. He said he got an awful lot of
phone calls snd visits from irate people
rlernandmg to know why their service
was discontinued, he said. "We were
PG&E, the company, to them, not
PG&E, people.'.
Conrad said that he once had a gun
held to his head while working as a ser-
con—oned on page 16
Something For Free!!
info & Conversation on the
Trials & Tribulations of Academic Life
Students With Answers
10-5 Monday thru Friday
San Ramon 2 Rm 45C 487-2924
Come See What We Can Do For You!
SS«SS«y»S««S«»S»SS«S«»«S»ff»»»»»aW«SS«a)SSS**l
es—sass—ass
Jr. Hot Fudge
Sundae Special
t.0
-
sea
With This Ad
Offer good throHgh Muck
rvtonday—Friday 3:00-7-00
494 Shaw (Across from Fashion Fair) 226-8996
inniirrrrrr : "~*~""*****