Racist Killer Convicted
March 16, 1999
By Howard Pankratz
Denver Post Legal Affairs Writer
Used with Permission
A jury convicted skinhead Jeremiah Barnum on Monday of murdering a West African immigrant
and paralyzing a bystander in a hate crime that shocked Denver.
Barnum, looking pale and stunned by the four guilty verdicts, could spend the rest of his
life in prison.
The 25-year-old Barnum proclaimed his innocence throughout the two-week trial in Denver
District Court. His lawyers argued he was walking with friend and coworker Nathan Thill
the night of Nov. 18, 1997, when Thill suddenly pulled a gun and shot Oumar Dia and
Jeannie VanVelkinburgh.
But jury foreman James S. Keller said jurors were convinced Barnum told Thill to "shoot the b----," referring to VanVelkinburgh.
Prosecutors Gloria Rivera and Mike Pellow said Thill and Barnum - a burly 6-footer who
weighs 200 pounds and sports neo-Nazi tattoos - attacked Dia because of their shared
racist beliefs.
Dia, a 38-year-old bellhop at the Downtown Hyatt who had a wife and three children in
Senegal, was shot three times. VanVelkinburgh, 37, was shot once in the spine. The attack
happened at a bus stop at 17th and Welton streets after Dia and VanVelkinburgh had gotten
off work. VanVelkinburgh was a nursing home aide.
"I thought that we presented a persuasive case and demonstrated that Jeremiah Barnum
was not a party to Thill's actions," said Peter Bornstein, Barnum's lawyer. Thill
goes on trial next month and faces the death penalty if convicted.
But Keller said the jury rejected the notion that Barnum was just a witness.
Barnum "aided, abetted and advised" Thill, said Keller, a retired cable TV industry consultant.
During their hours-long jaunt through Downtown Denver, Barnum and Thill were inseparable, Keller said. Had Barnum wanted to truly ditch Thill, as he claimed, he could have done so.
"Not once did he call the police or 911," the jury foreman said.
"There had to be complicity. He (Barnum) knew what was going on. It was proven to us that (Thill) didn't act alone." In the hours before the shooting, Barnum was in a "very angry mood," Keller said. He said the evidence showed:
The jury, which deliberated for about nine hours Friday and Monday, found Barnum guilty
of premeditated first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault
and ethnic intimidation. He was acquitted of felony murder.
Barnum faces life in prison without parole and could receive an additional 48 years when
sentenced next month, District Attorney Bill Ritter said.
Barnum's attorneys spent much of the trial trying to prove that the closest witness to the
shootings - VanVelkinburgh - embellished her role and couldn't be believed. They called a
psychologist who specializes in post traumatic stress disorder who said such victims often
recall only bits and pieces and distort what happened.
Keller said many of the jurors agreed VanVelkinburgh's later and more elaborate stories
may have been "fantasies." But they believed her initial statements to police
and bystanders.
In those statements, she said Dia's hat had been knocked from his head and she was in the
process of returning the hat when Thill opened fire on Dia and her.
VanVelkinburgh's court testimony was memorable because of her behavior. She screamed obscenities, told conflicting stories and twice tossed a court reporter's transcript on nearby tables after being asked to recall earlier testimony.
In his closing argument, prosecutor Pellow said VanVelkinburgh's high-spirited nature was proof that she attempted to help Dia.
Calling VanVelkinburgh "raw and unedited," he said she has been put on trial for trying to help a shooting victim.
"Is she angry?" asked Pellow. "Yes, she is angry. Is she bitter? Yes,
she is bitter."
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