Man Charged With Killing Caltech Scientist Had Been Released After Loaded-Gun Arrest

The man charged with fatally shooting a renowned Caltech scientist on the front porch of his remote Antelope Valley home had been arrested less than three months earlier on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in a personal vehicle — then released on his own recognizance after the charge was dismissed for unknown reasons, according to court and jail records.

Freddy Snyder, 29, was arrested Dec. 20, 2025, in Palmdale on suspicion of carrying a loaded firearm in a personal vehicle, jail records show. He was charged, but the charge was later dismissed for unknown reasons, according to court records. Snyder was released on his own recognizance on Dec. 23, jail records show.

Less than three months later, authorities allege, Snyder shot and killed Carl Grillmair, 67, a researcher at Caltech whose work included research using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope focused on galactic structure, dark matter and stellar populations, according to his Caltech online biography. Caltech confirmed Grillmair was revered in the astronomy field for discovering water on a distant planet.

The shooting was reported about 6:10 a.m. Monday in the 30700 block of 165th Street East in Llano, an unincorporated community in a remote stretch of the Antelope Valley, according to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Deputies responding to a 911 call reporting an assault with a deadly weapon found Grillmair on the front porch of his home, suffering from a gunshot wound, authorities said. Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. He was identified Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.

“While investigating the shooting call, Palmdale Sheriff’s Station deputies also responded to a carjacking call in the same area,” according to a sheriff’s department statement. Snyder was initially detained and was subsequently arrested.

He was charged Wednesday with murder and carjacking in connection with the killing, along with an allegation of personal and intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury. He was also charged with burglary allegedly committed in late December. Snyder is being held in lieu of $3.175 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned March 26 in Lancaster.

It is unclear whether Grillmair and Snyder had any connection prior to the killing.

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 had built his own observatory at his expansive home, according to The Times, which also reported that Grillmair flew airplanes in his spare time.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Anonymous tips can be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.