Neurologist testifies Capital Gazette gunman has autism spectrum disorder; prosecutors dispute diagnosis credibility

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A neurologist testified Friday afternoon that the man who murdered five Capital Gazette employees has autism spectrum disorder, one of the diagnoses his defense attorneys are basing his insanity claims on.

The gunman who fatally shot Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters falls at the mild to moderate end of the developmental disorder’s continuum, the doctor said.

Apart from being awkward, Dr. Thomas Hyde said, that means Jarrod Ramos may have seemed normal to people he encountered. Hyde said Ramos does not have any intellectual impairment, which sometimes accompanies autism, but struggled with the social aspects of life — a hallmark of the disorder.

His testimony brought to a close the first week of Ramos’ sanity trial. Ramos, 41, was already convicted of the murders but his attorneys maintain he is not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder that prevented him from understanding his actions were illegal and being able to behave according to the law.

The chief medical officer for the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, a Baltimore-based nonprofit dedicated to researching developmental disorders, Hyde also does forensic neurologic evaluations. Hyde testified he met with the gunman twice and talked to his sister on the phone — a total of four hours of work — to come up with his diagnosis.

Prosecutors dispute Ramos has autism and contend he committed the mass shooting as revenge for Ramos’ belief the Annapolis newspaper tarnished his reputation.

Hyde testified Friday that he reviewed nothing about the shooting and, few, if any, records from Ramos’ past. Hyde met with Ramos and diagnosed him like a treating physician. His time with the gunman led him to notice Ramos was rigid, struggled with social cues and lacked empathy.

“He showed a remarkable lack of emotion,” Hyde said.

Autism is present at birth and usually diagnosed in childhood. But Hyde testified people with milder forms of the disorder slip through the cracks. These people are typically intelligent and their smarts mask the symptoms until the disorder is exposed by more complex social situations, he testified.

Hyde said Ramos thinks in “very concrete terms,” prefers a rigid routine to the point that he likes jail, becomes obsessed with things and walked with a stiff gait — all evidence of his autism, according to the doctor. He added Ramos led a “very constricted social life,” and never had an intimate relationship or close friends. He preferred isolation.

Assistant State’s Attorney David Russell questioned Hyde’s sources of information, highlighting that the doctor only talked to Ramos and his sister, Michelle Jeans, before coming to a diagnosis. Russell also emphasized that Ramos claimed in interviews with other psychiatrists to have friends as a child, joined a chess club, a running team and earned a nickname, Gizmo, while hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Russell played portions of the video from Ramos’ interrogation after the shooting, where he appeared to crack a joke and laugh.

But Hyde said evaluating ASD requires nuance; it’s not an “all or nothing phenomenon.” People with autism can have relationships and laugh at jokes, he said.

In April, he administered the autism-spectrum quotient for Ramos and said his scores confirmed his diagnosis of autism.

The test required multiple choice responses for prompts like “I find social situations easy” or “I find it hard to make new friends.”

Russell questioned whether someone intelligent such as Ramos could get access to the test and respond to support an autism diagnosis. He asked if Hyde was concerned Ramos duped him.

“Would you agree or disagree that the fact he’s on trial for a mass shooting would have some affect on his answers?” Russell asked.

Hyde said he took it into consideration but saw no suggestion of fabrication. Besides, after the last time he sat down with Ramos, he believes the gunman has been suffering from delusions.

If the jury finds Ramos insane, he’ll be sent to a mental hospital. If its verdict says he’s sane, a judge will preside over his sentencing. Prosecutors will seek at least five life sentences without the possibility of parole.

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(Capital Gazette reporter Lilly Price contributed to this article.)