A California astrophysicist known for mapping the Milky Way's structure and spotting water on a distant world was shot to death on the porch of his desert home. Authorities say 67-year-old Carl Grillmair, a longtime Caltech researcher, was found with a gunshot wound to the torso outside his house in the unincorporated Antelope Valley community of Llano around 6:10am on Feb. 16. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his death was ruled a homicide, per the Los Angeles Times.
Sheriff's deputies later arrested 29-year-old Freddy Snyder in connection with a nearby carjacking; prosecutors have since charged him with Grillmair's murder, the carjacking, and an unrelated burglary. Investigators haven't said whether the men knew each other. Snyder was facing felony handgun charges in December when Judge Osman Abbasi ordered him to complete a gun safety course before releasing him from jail, reports the New York Post. He failed to appear in court as scheduled on Feb. 5 but had completed the safety course, so the charges were dismissed, according to the outlet. He was back in front of Abbasi last week to answer to the new charges.
Grillmair, a recipient of the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, spent decades charting faint stellar streams in the Milky Way. Colleague Sergio Fajardo-Acosta said he was "very famous in astronomy," adding his various discoveries, including of galactic streams he named, ensure "his legacy will live on."
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