On June 1, 1990, Steve Lohman, a dedicated 27-year-old Male, was simply at his job, a place where he worked hard as a crew chief for the Wisconsin Conservation Corps. That Friday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, would be his last, not because of any mistake he made, but because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a disgruntled former trainee arrived with a gun and a heart full of resentment.
Lohman, a carpentry supervisor from Superior, was a hardworking man whose life was cut tragically short in a senseless act of violence.
The man who ended his life was Christopher J. Scarver, a 20-year-old who had been a trainee carpenter with the Conservation Corps. Scarver had been promised a full-time position by a supervisor, but when that supervisor was dismissed, the offer vanished. Believing he was a victim of injustice, Scarver began drinking heavily and claimed to hear voices calling him "the chosen one." His growing delusions and anger culminated on that June day when he walked into the program's training office armed with a.25 caliber pistol.
Inside the office were Steve Lohman and the site manager, John Feyen. Scarver, enraged, forced Lohman to the ground at gunpoint and demanded money from Feyen. When Feyen could only produce $15, Scarver's fury escalated. He shot Lohman once in the head, killing him. According to authorities, Scarver then turned to Feyen and said, "Now do you think I'm kidding? I need more money." As Feyen scrambled to write a check for $3,000, Scarver shot Lohman's body multiple times before fleeing the scene.
The manhunt for Scarver was brief. Police arrested him just hours later at his girlfriend's apartment, where they found the murder weapon. He reportedly told arresting officers he had planned to turn himself in, knowing he had done wrong. On June 5, 1990, Scarver was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree homicide, and armed robbery. He pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease, and while he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and described as having messianic delusions, he was ultimately found competent to stand trial.
In April 1992, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court jury convicted Christopher Scarver of the first-degree intentional homicide of Steve Lohman. He was sentenced to life in prison and sent to the Columbia Correctional Institution in Portage, Wisconsin. The story of Steve Lohman's murder is often overshadowed by his killer's later notoriety. On November 28, 1994, while serving his sentence, Scarver used a metal bar from the prison weight room to bludgeon two other infamous inmates to death: serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and murderer Jesse Anderson.
For these additional murders, Scarver received two more life sentences, ensuring he would never leave prison. He has since been transferred to other correctional facilities and remains incarcerated. While Scarver's later actions brought him a different kind of infamy, the memory of his first victim, Steve Lohman, endures as a tragic reminder of a life taken by a man consumed by delusion and rage.
