PENBROOK — The man who police say set fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence and planned to beat Shapiro with a hammer is “mentally ill,” his mother told CBS News.
Conversations with 38-year-old Cody Balmer’s family and neighbors and a review of public information reveal a chronically troubled man with young children who did not seem to have a strong political ideology.
His mother, Christie Balmer, told CBS News that her son “is mentally ill and he went off his medication.”
She tried to get him "picked up" last week and contacted four police departments, she told the news outlet, but "couldn't get anybody to help. So he was mentally ill, went off his meds, and this is what happened."
A neighbor, who spoke to Spotlight PA but requested anonymity to protect the Balmer family’s privacy, said that Cody Balmer suffers from mental health issues that had escalated in recent months.
“It's unfortunate it had to come to something this extreme for it to stop,” they said.
At Balmer’s arraignment in Dauphin County on Monday evening, Magisterial District Judge Dale Klein asked him if he had mental health issues and Balmer responded, “That’s the rumor, but no ma’am.”
Balmer also told Klein that he is not currently on medication, saying it had previously “led me to different types of behavior.”
Balmer was denied bail. His next court date is next week, April 23, in front of the same judge, at which he will enter a plea. His attorney departed the arraignment without speaking to reporters.
Balmer had worked as a mechanic in the past, according to his social media. Sheriff's sale data shows he faced foreclosure for a home just outside of Harrisburg in late 2024; that home is condemned as of Monday morning.
He is also a U.S. Army veteran. Army spokesperson Heather J. Hagan told Spotlight PA that Balmer was a construction equipment repairer in the Army Reserve from 2004 to 2012, and left as a sergeant. He had no deployments.
At his arraignment, Balmer confirmed to the judge that he is currently unemployed and was last living with his parents. He said he was most recently employed as a welder.
Balmer’s frequent Facebook posts were generally irreverent, but occasionally political.
He shared a handful of posts in early 2021 saying that former President Joe Biden owed him $2,000, referencing a campaign promise.
Few posts show partisan loyalty.
“If your guy won today fantastic have a good time…. within reason,” Balmer wrote in a comment on the day Pennsylvania’s presidential election was called for Biden in 2020. “If your guy didn't go on with life for now.”
He shared posts from and about a range of politicians, including Libertarian former U.S. Rep Ron Paul of Texas, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang.
He also shared posts supportive of the Black Lives Matter movement and skeptical of politicians, big pharmaceutical companies, and American foreign policy.
Balmer most recently faced criminal charges for allegedly assaulting his wife and children.
In 2023, Penbrook Police Department officer John Pesce responded to Balmer’s home following a call from a child who reported “his step father was beating his mother,” according to Pesce’s affidavit of probable cause.
Balmer’s wife accused him of biting her, hitting her in the face, and assaulting his 10- and 13-year-old children. Cody Balmer told the responding officer he took a “bottle full of pills in an attempt to kill himself,” according to the affidavit.
Police charged him with three counts of simple assault, and the case remains open.
Balmer also pleaded guilty to forgery and theft by deception in 2016 for altering another individual's paycheck and unsuccessfully attempting to cash it at two separate banks, according to a police affidavit. He was sentenced to 18 months probation for the offense.
He was also issued a non-traffic citation in 2019.