Defense wants Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s long-dead father exhumed to prove paternity

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Lawyers for the gunman who killed 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue have requested a court order to exhume the body of his long-dead father. Robert Bowers’ lawyers said Tuesday that they want the body exhumed for a DNA test after federal prosecutors raised questions about paternity. Bowers has already been convicted in the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue. A federal jury now has to decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without parole. The defense is trying to show that Bowers has a family history of mental illness and has introduced evidence that his father, Randall Bowers, was diagnosed with schizophrenia.