Biswanath Halder, who got a life sentence on Sunday for his campus rampage on May 9, 2003, had gone after the wrong man for hacking into his website at the Case Western Reserve University.
Halder was under the impression that Shawn Miller, who was an employee of Case Western Reserve University, had destroyed his website in July 2000.
Even as the case against the university was going on, Miller had said Halder was barking up the wrong tree and that he had not harmed Halder in any way.
Halder lost the case, leading to the May 9 shootout, when one person, Norman Wallace, was killed.
- Images: A Dangerous Mind
Forensic psychologists, who interviewed Halder extensively after the shooting spree, said that 'Shawn Miller was the most evil person in his eyes'.
But court papers allege that the actual culprit was someone else, and who also worked at the university.
It is believed that the man disliked Halder. Many co-students avoided Halder, according to testimonials in the court, because he did not seem to change his clothes, and was known for his grandiose statements and eccentricities.
- Also see: Into the mind of a killer
The mysterious man appeared in the courtroom on Friday at the Justice Center in Cleveland, Ohio, at Halder's sentencing trial but refused to say anything.
Halder had claimed in his suit that the hacking into his computer files and wiping out his 'life's work' was a cyber crime of epic proportion.
He blamed the university for protecting the perpetrator, and went on a rampage, he told a psychologist later.
But when Christopher Fenton, who no longer works for Case Western, took the stand, Halder would not even look at him.
- Also See: Is Biswanath Halder insane?
As Fenton was sworn, Halder sat stone-faced as he has been doing for the past several weeks during his trial.
Since other witnesses had testified in the court that Christopher Fenton was the perpetrator, Halder's attorneys called him to testify.
When defence attorney Kevin Cafferkey asked Fenton whether he hacked Halder's site, the response came in one line: "I respectfully decline to answer that question based on my Fifth Amendment rights."
And then Fenton was gone. Halder continued scribbling notes on his yellow legal pad.
For Shawn Miller, the nightmare of the civil suit and related incidents won't go away easily.
Few weeks ago, he wrote to rediff.com saying that while he loathed Halder, he did not hate him.
Miller also said that he had many friends in the Indian community, he enjoyed Hindi movies and had visited the local Hindu temples.
© 2026