GA - Anna Jones, 18 student, killed by Richard Sigman, 47, professor at U of W. Georgia *guilty verdict*

[Betty P]

Cops: West Georgia professor kills student at Carrollton parking deck

Police say security guards kicked Richard Sigman, a 47-year-old Carrollton man, out of Leopoldo’s Pizza Napoletana when they noticed he was armed with a gun. Sigman walked to a parking deck across the street from the pizzeria and fired several gunshots into a parked vehicle, investigators allege.

www.ajc.com

Police say security guards kicked out Richard Sigman, a 47-year-old Carrollton man, from Leopoldo’s Pizza Napoletana when they noticed he was armed with a gun. Sigman walked to a parking deck across the street from the pizzeria and fired several gunshots into a parked vehicle, investigators allege.


He struck 18-year-old Anna Jones, who was inside the vehicle, and she later died at a hospital, according to authorities.

The fatal shooting happened less than two miles from the University of West Georgia’s main campus, where school officials confirmed Jones was a student. Brendan Kelly, the university’s president, also confirmed that Sigman was a faculty member at the school and said he has been terminated, Channel 2 Action News reported.

From the news article, it sounds like Anna was a random, innocent victim. Sigman was kicked out of Leopold's restaurant because he had gotten into an argument with another man. Security guards saw him brandish a weapon, so they kicked him out of the restaurant.

 

[Betty P]

More news articles. So sad for Anna Jones.

University of West Georgia professor fatally shot freshman student, police say

The University of West Georgia community in a state of shock after police announced that one of its professors killed one of its students.

www.fox5atlanta.com

Anna is second to the right in this photo.

University professor facing charges after shooting 18-year-old girl in parking deck, police say

Carrolton police say a University of West Georgia professor faces murder charges in connection to the death of an 18-year-old student on Saturday morning.

www.yahoo.com

 

[CocoChanel]

According to Wikipedia, the University of West Georgia is in Carrollton, GA, and had an undergrad enrollment of 10,411 undergrads, and 2,827 graduate students in 2019. It is a public university, established in 1906.
University of West Georgia - Wikipedia

This is such a senseless inexplicable crime.

 

[CocoChanel]

Former University of West Georgia professor accused of murder in 18-year-old's death

The victim, Anna Jones, 18, was an incoming freshman. She was not a student of this man.
Also, he was reportedly intoxicated when this happened.
He was reportedly terminated immediately.
From the link above:

Jones was enrolled to attend UWG in the fall, however, police said she was not one of Sigman's students. They noted that Sigman was intoxicated during the altercation and shooting.

 

[Betty P]

According to Wikipedia, the University of West Georgia is in Carrollton, GA, and had an undergrad enrollment of 10,411 undergrads, and 2,827 graduate students in 2019. It is a public university, established in 1906.
University of West Georgia - Wikipedia

This is such a senseless inexplicable crime.

Really sad, a senseless tragedy. It sounds like he was angry for being thrown out of the restaurant and decided to take it out by shooting at the vehicle she was sitting in with her friends. What the heck?

 

[evilwise]

I can imagine some scenarios where there might have been a motive but it really doesn't click. She looks so innocent. It seems almost certainly like a mostly random shooting but usually even with "random" shootings there's some reason. Why her instead of the guy at the restaurant he got into an argument with or the employee who kicked him out? I have a hard time even imagining this girl even saying anything like "Get out of here you drunk" - was the other person in the car with her even injured?

My primary reason to be in this site is to try to understand the reasons that people become victims but some cases just baffle me and therefore frustrate and even scare me. Even mass shooters usually have some kind of screwed up rationale for what they're doing. Did this guy get drunk enough to just for a moment dip into psychosis and then the act itself shocked him back out?

 

[Dotta]

He took his rage out on a woman.
A defenceless one.

MOO

 

[vls12345]

Maybe he wasn't shooting at her or even toward a person? Maybe he was drunk, angry, and just fired at random in the parking garage at cars and hit her? If the car has tinted windows, he might not have seen her, especially if it was kind of dark in the parking garage?

Not defending him at all, but I am wondering about the actual details of what happened in the parking garage since it's not specified in the articles.

Another scenario. She and friend(s) were laughing, and in his drunken rage, he thought they might be laughing at him and he shot at them?

MOO.

 

[Dotta]

So the perp was the university professor??
Wow

He seems to be an alcoholic with anger issues.

I wonder what are his students' opinions about him.
Scary person.

MOO

 

[reasonableguess]

Rate My Professor profile is locked.

 

[Dotta]

Rate My Professor profile is locked.

It opened for me.

And guess what?

"Awful" has the most votes.

 

[annemc2]

Rate My Professor profile is locked.

He's described as a "likeable" and "genuine" guy. Reviews are mostly in regards to his lecture and grading styles. Apparently they dropped the chili pepper (attractiveness rating) awhile ago. I have a feeling that Sigman wouldn't have had any. It was fun to mess with my friends who are faculty about their chili pepper ratings back in the day!

 

[Cryptic]

Why her instead of the guy at the restaurant he got into an argument with or the employee who kicked him out?

I am thinking.....

The answer might depend on what the other customer did. Did he remain in the restaurant- or.... did he get kicked out as well (perhaps more gently)?

Alot of the, well... uhmmm "dive" bars that I go to have a policy that if there is an argument or fight, both people get kicked out. This is done to keep the image of fairness and because the employees dont want to get sucked into a pointless "Who really said / did what to whom first- and why" type argument.

Evidently the pizza parlor had a security guard. So, I am thinking it was more of a bar and grill. If they have had trouble before, they may well of had a "both leave" policy.

If so this could support:

- Professor gets into argument with other customer. Both are kicked out. Experienced bouncers... err security guards know not to let both parties leave at the same time, lest it starts up again in the parking lot.

- Other customer is "asked" to leave first. Professor sees him go in direction of parking garage.

-Professor is kicked out. Then rushes to the garage in an attempt to confront other customer.

- In his drunken state, he mistakes the victim's car for being associated with the other customer, or thinks it is being driven by the other man. He then opens fire?
-

 

[Dotta]

I am thinking.....

The answer might depend on what the other customer did. Did he remain in the restaurant- or.... did he get kicked out as well (perhaps more gently)?

Alot of the, well... uhmmm "dive" bars that I go to have a policy that if there is an argument or fight, both people get kicked out. This is done to keep the image of fairness and because the employees dont want to get sucked into a pointless "Who really said / did what to whom first- and why" type argument.

Evidently the pizza parlor had a security guard. So, I am thinking it was more of a bar and grill. If they have had trouble before, they may well of had a "both leave" policy.

If so this could support:

- Professor gets into argument with other customer. Both are kicked out. Experienced bouncers... err security guards know not to let both parties leave at the same time, lest it starts up again in the parking lot.

- Other customer is "asked" to leave first. Professor sees him go in direction of parking garage.

-Professor is kicked out. Then rushes to the garage in an attempt to confront other customer.

- In his drunken state, he mistakes the victim's car for being associated with the other customer, or thinks it is being driven by the other man. He then opens fire?
-

He would still murder a person.
What if he opened fire in university during lecture?

 

[Cryptic]

He would still murder a person.
What if he opened fire in university during lecture?

It would be interesting to see if he was a tenured professor.

Tenured professors, particularly in a public institution with ubber complex rules for terminating vested government employees, can be very difficult to fire.

As a result, some tenured professors known to be problem people are kept (so long as they dont, well, kill anybody) as retaining them is easier, and less costly than firing them.

My vague understand understanding is that Universities are reluctant to give tenures now for fear of being stuck with either a problem person personality wise, or a pleasant personality- who has performance issues.

 

[Dotta]

It would be interesting to see if he was a tenured professor.

Tenured professors, particularly in a public institution with ubber complex rules for terminating vested government employees, can be very difficult to fire.

As a result, some tenured professors known to be problem people are kept (so long as they dont, well, kill anybody) as retaining them is easier, and less costly than firing them.

My vague understand understanding is that Universities are reluctant to give tenures know for fear of being stuck indefinetly with either a problem person personality wise, or a wonderful person who has performance issues.

Some are also known for massive egos.

 

[Countem]

It would be interesting to see if he was a tenured professor.

Tenured professors, particularly in a public institution with ubber complex rules for terminating vested government employees, can be very difficult to fire.

As a result, some tenured professors known to be problem people are kept (so long as they dont, well, kill anybody) as retaining them is easier, and less costly than firing them.

My vague understand understanding is that Universities are reluctant to give tenures now for fear of being stuck with either a problem person personality wise, or a pleasant personality- who has performance issues.

RS was not a professor, as has been widely reported, but a lecturer at the Department of Management in the Richards College of Business. (See the link below.)

FWIW, I am the child of two retired tenured university professors. Generally, there are clear distinctions between lecturers and professors. For instance, lecturers are generally not eligible for tenure.

University of West Georgia educator charged with murder in death of incoming student

Richard Sigman, 47, was accused of fatally shooting Anna Jones, 18, on Saturday. He was fired later that day, the University of West Georgia said.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Cryptic]

FWIW, I am the child of two retired tenured university professors. Generally, there are clear distinctions between lecturers and professors. For instance, lecturers are generally not eligible for tenure.

Would you know if lecturers are usually long term, or does the title usually imply, say, shorter duration contracts?

 

[vls12345]

Professor who police say shot, killed 18-year-old college student denied bond

A judge read Sigman his charges including malice murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

www.wsbtv.com

The fired college professor police say shot and killed a University of West Georgia student had his first court appearance Monday where a judge denied his bond.

[snip]

Police said at around midnight on Saturday, Sigman then walked to a parking deck off Adamson Square, pulled out a Glock 43 9mm handgun and started shooting.

According to court documents, one bullet hit Jones in the ankle, and another struck the 18-year-old in the neck.

Jones later died at Tanner Medical Center.

[snip]

The University of West Georgia immediately fired Sigman.

[snip]

 

[realanastasia]

Would you know if lecturers are usually long term, or does the title usually imply, say, shorter duration contracts?

At all the colleges/universities I've worked at, an "instructor" signs a semester-long contract to teach one (or more) class(s), so there's really `no job security--you're usually the first of the teaching staff to be cut when departmental budgets shrink. I have no reason to think the situation at UWGA would be any different.