Genius Astrophysicist Shot Dead on His Porch in Southern California

A Caltech astrophysicist who was an expert on distant planets was shot dead at his home on Monday.

The Los Angeles Times reported Carl Grillmair, 67, was shot in his torso by a man who approached him on his porch.

Freddy Snyder, 29, has since been charged with Grillmair’s murder and is being held on a $2 million bail.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department reported that after Snyder shot Grillmair, he attempted to flee the scene by carjacking a nearby vehicle.

Sergio Fajardo-Acosta, a colleague of Grillmair, was in shock to hear the news of Grillmair’s murder and shared, “We are shocked. He was very famous in astronomy and a very renowned scientist. His legacy will live on forever.”

Caltech genius found gundowned on his front porch

Carl Grillmair was a Caltech astrophysicist at the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, specializing in galactic astronomy, dark matter, stellar streams, galactic structure, and exoplanets.

He led projects on Hubble… pic.twitter.com/PNMhDHzvur

— Red Panda Koala (@RedPandaKoala) February 20, 2026

Per KTLA:

A Caltech research scientist known for groundbreaking discoveries in astronomy has been identified as the victim of a fatal shooting under investigation in the Antelope Valley, officials confirmed on Thursday.

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the victim as Carl Grillmair, 67, a resident of Llano who died Feb. 16 from a gunshot wound to the torso. His death was ruled a homicide.

Caltech confirmed to KTLA that Grillmair worked as a research scientist at the institute’s Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, commonly known as IPAC.

“Thank you for your condolences — yes, we can confirm that Carl was employed by Caltech,” Senior Media Relations Manager Robert Perkins said, adding that the institute is working to determine whether an official statement will be released.

According to Caltech’s bio page of Grillamir, his research interests included “Dark matter, Galactic structure, stellar populations, and exoplanets.”

At the time of his death, Grillmair had been researching comets and asteroids that could potentially pose a threat to Earth.

The tragic news of Grillamir’s death comes months after prominent nuclear scientist and professor at MIT Nuno Loureiro was murdered at his home.

Loureiro’s killer was identified as Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente, a 48-year-old Portuguese national who was previously Loureiro’s classmate.

Cláudio Manuel Neves Valente was later found dead by suicide at an Extra Space Storage facility in Salem, New Hampshire, ending a several-day manhunt.

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