'Systematic, deliberate and intentional': Scottsdale shooting update

Three days after forensic psychiatrist Steven Pitt was gunned down outside of his job, police offered little new information about the string of shootings that swept professional offices in Phoenix and Scottsdale late last week.

Officials had linked Pitt's murder to the Friday killing of two paralegals — Veleria Sharp and Laura Anderson — in a small family law office near downtown Scottsdale. But they provided few details about a potential suspect beyond a black-and-white sketch of a man with a round face and a dark-colored cap. 

As of Sunday evening, police said they were still investigating a possible connection between the first three murders and the Friday shooting of life coach Marshall Levine in his office. 

The lack of answers left many legal and mental-health professionals with a sense of unease as they prepared for the workweek. Multiple lawyers told The Arizona Republic they had hired additional security or planned to avoid going into the office Monday.

Since police haven't named a suspect, no one knows who else might be a target. Lawyers met in darkened cafes Sunday, scrambling to figure out which clients the lawyers at Burt, Feldman and Grenier had in common with Pitt.

They hypothesized about how — and if — Levine's murder could be tied to the first three, wondering who could be next on the still unidentified shooter's hit list.

Pitt's dangerous career

Stephanie Isherwood, who owns the building where Pitt's office was located, said in an interview Sunday that Pitt was aware of the dangers of his career.

His entire profession focused on the mental health of criminals, frequently delving into unstable territory, Isherwood said. But he didn't let his cases dominate his personal life. Instead, he divided his time between his work and his love for hiking, traveling and spending time with his family. 

Isherwood still remembers the first time she met Pitt nearly 15 years ago: He had already made a name for himself as a prominent psychiatrist by consulting on a number of notorious cases, including the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School and the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation.

Yet he casually welcomed a group of frenzied reporters into his office to discuss an ongoing case while clad in a crisp white dress shirt paired with a pair of hiking shorts and boots. A press conference wasn't going to get in the way of hiking Camelback Mountain.

Pitt's zeal for life made his death even more heartbreaking to Isherwood, she said. 

"He was willing to dedicate himself to this, and he put aside the risk to do what he did," she said. "He was trying to triumph over evil and serve justice, and this is what happened."

After Pitt's death, the office turned over security footage and other items to law enforcement. Isherwood said she is positive the answer is hidden somewhere within those materials.

Murders likely motivated by revenge, criminal profiler says

As a criminal profiler, Enzo Yaksic — head of the Atypical Homicide Research Group at Northeastern University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice — frequently turns to past murders as a guide as he analyzes a new case.

In an email interview with The Republic, he compared the recent string of metro Phoenix shootings to the 2013 killing spree of Christopher Dorner. Dorner began a series of attacks against law-enforcement officers and civilians after he was fired from his job as a Los Angeles police officer. He died during a standoff with police nine days after the spree began.

Yaksic believes the Phoenix-area murders were likely motivated by a desire for revenge for a perceived wrongdoing. Police have previously said the shooting at the law firm wasn't random, and friends and colleagues also speculated that Pitt was targeted.

Yaksic said that "because the homicides of Pitt, Sharp and Anderson are most likely not inspired by urges or compulsions, but are instead systematic, deliberate and intentional," he believes the killer's spree might have already come to an end.

The shooter's motive remains anyone's guess. 

“We are asking the public to remain vigilant,” Scottsdale police spokesman Ben Hoster said. 

Police are asking for anyone with information on the shootings to call 911 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish.

Silent Witness and the Maricopa County Attorney's Office are offering a combined reward of up to $11,000 leading to an arrest. An additional reward of $10,000 could also be earned after a conviction.

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