The June 1993 murder of John Kowalczyk was a contract killing allegedly arranged by his former father-in-law, Stanley Hyman, during a bitter divorce and custody fight with Kowalczyk’s ex-wife. Prosecutors said Hyman paid West Virginia handyman Ralph Shambaugh Jr. $25,000 to shoot the 38-year-old Northern Virginia builder in a Vienna parking lot. Hyman and his wife died in an apparent murder-suicide before any charges were filed. The alleged getaway driver was later found dead in a well. Shambaugh, the only person tried, was convicted of conspiracy but not of the murder itself.
The Killing in Vienna
On the evening of June 10, 1993, Kowalczyk was shot to death while sitting in his pickup truck outside an office building he had once owned in Vienna, Virginia. He had just dropped his 12-year-old son, Nicholas, back with his ex-wife Katherine after a custody visit.1Virginian-Pilot. Murder-for-Hire Trial Coverage It was the first murder in the quiet suburb in 14 years.
The weapon was a Thompson Center Contender, a rare single-shot handgun with interchangeable barrels capable of firing rifle ammunition. On June 24, two weeks after the killing, police seized a Thompson Center Contender from Stanley and Jacqueline Hyman’s home in McLean, Virginia. Records showed Jacqueline Hyman had purchased one at a Clearwater, Florida, store on June 1, nine days before Kowalczyk was killed.2Roanoke Times. Investigation Into Vienna Slaying Spans Three States
The Motive: A Bitter Divorce
Kowalczyk was in the middle of an ugly divorce and custody battle with Katherine Kowalczyk, the daughter of Stanley and Jacqueline Hyman. The proceedings had generated roughly $700,000 in debt, and Stanley Hyman had personally spent $160,000 on legal expenses tied to the case.3Daily Press. Suspects in Slaying Found Dead
Kowalczyk had reportedly told friends he feared Hyman would kill him. His ex-wife had allegedly once told him, “I will see you bankrupted or dead.” Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., who oversaw the investigation across Virginia, West Virginia, and Florida, told reporters, “Kowalczyk obviously had a number of enemies; from Day One, he had a number of enemies.”2Roanoke Times. Investigation Into Vienna Slaying Spans Three States
Katherine Kowalczyk passed a private polygraph test, according to the reporting, was never charged, and was expected to testify as a witness at trial.1Virginian-Pilot. Murder-for-Hire Trial Coverage
The Hymans’ Deaths
On August 4, 1993, less than two months after the murder and before anyone had been arrested, Stanley Hyman, 70, and Jacqueline Hyman, 63, were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at their Florida condominium. They left notes suggesting they believed they would be cleared of any involvement in the killing. Stanley Hyman denied involvement in Kowalczyk’s death in his suicide note.1Virginian-Pilot. Murder-for-Hire Trial Coverage Their deaths ended any chance the alleged mastermind would ever face prosecution.2Roanoke Times. Investigation Into Vienna Slaying Spans Three States
The Body in the Well
James Alting, a worker at the Coolfont Resort in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, vanished nine days after the killing. He left behind his vehicle and his seizure medication. Inside his home, investigators found a scrap of paper with Stanley Hyman’s contact information and a matchbook from a motel near the Vienna murder scene.4Roanoke Times. Multi-State Investigation Coverage
On June 11, 1994, Alting’s badly decomposed body was discovered in a well on property belonging to the family of Ralph Shambaugh Jr.5Washington Post. Body Found in Well Is Figure in Virginia Slaying Prosecutors later described Alting as the getaway driver for the Kowalczyk killing.6Virginian-Pilot. Capital Murder Trial Opens The research does not indicate that Shambaugh was ever separately charged in connection with Alting’s death.
The Case Against Ralph Shambaugh Jr.
On September 20, 1993, a Fairfax County grand jury indicted Shambaugh, then 33, on capital murder charges. He turned himself in and was charged with murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder, and using a firearm to commit the crime.7Washington Post. Man Held in Kowalczyk Case8Virginian-Pilot. Shambaugh Trial Sentencing Coverage
The prosecution’s theory: Hyman, consumed by the custody fight, hired Shambaugh for $25,000. Phone records showed more than 30 calls between the two men in the six weeks before the murder, and none after June 10.8Virginian-Pilot. Shambaugh Trial Sentencing Coverage
The trial opened in Fairfax County Circuit Court in late November 1994 and ran about two weeks. The case was largely circumstantial, with no eyewitnesses to the shooting, though the Vienna police chief testified to placing Shambaugh at the scene.8Virginian-Pilot. Shambaugh Trial Sentencing Coverage
A key prosecution witness was James Sabol, another Coolfont Resort maintenance worker. Sabol testified that Shambaugh had approached him twice, first offering $5,000 to drive a getaway car, then $2,000 for a silencer or night scope. Shambaugh said he had been offered $25,000 to “take care of” a man in Fairfax County and showed Sabol a photograph of the target kept in a small tin, without naming him. Sabol refused both offers.9Washington Post. Man Testifies Defendant Told Him of Murder Plot6Virginian-Pilot. Capital Murder Trial Opens
Evidence relating to Alting’s body being found on Shambaugh family property was largely excluded from the trial.8Virginian-Pilot. Shambaugh Trial Sentencing Coverage The defense presented four witnesses who said Shambaugh had been at his home in Berkeley Springs on the night of the killing.
Conviction on Conspiracy, Mistrial on Murder
On December 13, 1994, the jury found Shambaugh guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. Jurors deadlocked on the capital murder charge and the related firearms count, unable to agree on whether Shambaugh himself pulled the trigger. The judge declared a mistrial on those charges.10Washington Post. West Virginia Man Gets 18-Year Term in Builder’s Slaying
The jury recommended 18 years in prison and a $25,000 fine on the conspiracy count, which carried a range of 5 to 20 years. A conviction for murder-for-hire could have brought the death penalty. Horan said he would decide later whether to retry Shambaugh on the murder charge.8Virginian-Pilot. Shambaugh Trial Sentencing Coverage
Four people connected to the case were dead before a jury ever reached a verdict: Kowalczyk himself, both Hymans, and Alting. Shambaugh, the only person tried, was never convicted of the murder. What exactly happened in that Vienna parking lot on June 10, 1993, was never definitively established in court.