A man charged in the shooting death of a renowned Caltech scientist at the researcher’s home in a remote part of the unincorporated Antelope Valley community of Llano pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder and other charges.
Freddy O. Snyder, now 30, is charged in the Feb. 16 killing of Carl Grillmair, 67, who is revered in the astronomy field for discovering water on a distant planet.
The murder charge includes allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a rifle that caused great bodily injury and death to Grillmair.
Snyder also is charged with one count each of carjacking with discharge of a rifle and first-degree residential burglary involving two separate alleged victims on Feb. 16 and Dec. 28, 2025, respectively.
He is due back in a Lancaster courtroom June 5 for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to allow the case against him to proceed to trial.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responding to a 911 call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon found Grillmair suffering from a gunshot wound on the front porch in the 30700 block of 165th Street East, authorities said.
Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.
“While investigating the shooting call, Palmdale sheriff’s station deputies also responded to a carjacking call in the same area,” according to a statement released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Jail records show that Snyder was previously arrested in Palmdale last Dec. 20 on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in a personal vehicle. He was charged in that case, but the charge was later dismissed for unknown reasons, according to court records. Snyder was released Dec. 23 on his own recognizance, jail records show.
He was arrested again Feb. 16 by sheriff’s deputies and has remained behind bars since then in lieu of more than $3.1 million bail, according to jail records.
Grillmair’s work included research using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and focused on galactic structure, dark matter and stellar populations, according to his Caltech online biography.
A friend and Caltech colleague of Grillmair’s told the Los Angeles Times that the scientist lived in the desert because the nighttime darkness made for better astronomical observations. He even built his own observatory at his expansive home, according to The Times, which reported that Grillmair flew airplanes in his spare time.
It was unclear if Grillmair and Snyder had any connection prior to the killing.