James Simpson

Mass Murderer

James Daniel Simpson and the 1995 Walter Rossler Company Massacre

Background

James Daniel Simpson was a 28-year-old former employee of the Walter Rossler Company, a small refinery inspection and metallurgy business located at 2535 Rand Morgan Road in Corpus Christi, Texas. On April 3, 1995, Simpson returned to the workplace carrying two handguns and murdered five people before taking his own life. Simpson had worked for the company for approximately one year as a metalworker. He reportedly wanted to concentrate exclusively on metallurgy, but his employers expected him to perform additional inspection-related duties. Simpson apparently became increasingly dissatisfied with those assignments and abruptly left the company in September 1994, approximately seven months before the massacre. Company owner Walter Rossler reportedly attempted to persuade Simpson to return to work. Employees Derek Harrison and Richard Tomlinson were also sent to Simpson's residence to speak with him, but Simpson refused to resume his employment. The company later sought repayment of money that had reportedly been loaned to Simpson for educational expenses. Investigators examined these employment and financial disagreements as possible contributing factors, but authorities never established a definitive motive.

The April 3, 1995 Attack

At approximately 4:15 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, April 3, 1995, Simpson entered the front door of the Walter Rossler Company. He was armed with a 9mm Ruger semiautomatic pistol and a .32-caliber revolver. Approximately ten people were inside the building when the attack began. Simpson first approached the office occupied by employee Patty June "Wendy" Brunson Gilmore. According to surviving witness Lisa Rossler-Duff, Simpson directed a hostile remark toward Gilmore and immediately fired several shots. Gilmore was fatally wounded. Simpson then crossed the narrow hallway and continued firing at other people inside the business. Walter Rossler, his wife Joann Rossler, Derek Harrison and Richard Lee Tomlinson were all shot. The rapid succession of gunfire gave employees little opportunity to understand what was happening or escape from the confined office building. Some of those present managed to flee without being injured. Two people reportedly escaped by crawling through or near the rear doorway. Others concealed themselves in offices and beneath furniture as Simpson moved through the building.

Lisa Rossler-Duff and Her Infant Son

Walter and Joann Rossler's daughter, Lisa Rossler-Duff, was working inside the building with her eight-month-old son nearby. After seeing her father fall, she hid beneath a table with the baby and called 911. During the emergency call, Simpson entered the office where Lisa and her child were hiding. Lisa believed that she had secured the door and shouted when Simpson appeared. Her infant son was crying, but Simpson did not shoot either of them. He turned away and left the room. Why Simpson spared Lisa and the child remains unknown. His decision allowed one of the principal witnesses to provide investigators with an account of the attack and Simpson's movements inside the company offices. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Wendy P. Gilmore 41 yr old Female

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