GUILTY CA - Eight killed, 1 injured in Seal Beach salon shooting, 12 Oct 2011

[kimi_SFC]

(snip)

Dekraai, who faces the death penalty, was not offered anything in exchange for pleading guilty, public defender Scott Sanders said on Monday.

“He wanted the victims to know that he will not be challenging at any point, now or in the future, him being in custody for the rest of his life,” Sanders said.

Read more at http://ktla.com/2014/05/02/accused-...expected-to-plead-guilty/#AkJILVOR4bLqfvl0.99

This snip is confusing to me. I guess we will have to wait for the Judge to hand down the sentencing, or some other official clarification regarding the capital punishment aspect of this case. My apologies if I missed it in another article. My head is spinning ATM.

This crime was SO heinous. The statement is clear that there was no plea bargain involved. The DP is reserved for the worst of the worst - and IMO, this case qualifies.

My heart is with the family of the survivors, including the son left behind. I will never forget reading about him waiting for someone to pick him up at school that fateful day. His mom will never pick him up again, nor will his father. His life has been shattered beyond recognition by someone who should have put him first. :moo:

My sister used to be a client at SM, so this case hits home. Seal Beach has been forever changed by the actions of one man.

:rose: :rose: :rose: :rose: :rose: :rose: :rose: :rose:


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[OkieGranny]

http://www.voiceofoc.org/countywide/county_government/article_b0e3d626-fdbd-11e3-a2d1-001a4bcf887a.html

During an extraordinary hearing Thursday in Santa Ana, a former federal prosecutor who is now an Orange County Superior Court judge directly disputed crucial previous testimony by a county prosecutor and two law enforcement officers.

The testimony of Judge Terri K. Flynn-Peister came during an unprecedented evidentiary hearing in the mass murder trial of Scott Evans Dekraai, whose public defenders are alleging a pattern of misuse of informants and violations of defendants’ constitutional rights...

 

[JoeFromLB]

Judge finds D.A. actions 'negligent' in Dekraai case, but not malicious

The defense’s requests to bar the death penalty and remove the entire District Attorney’s Office from the case were denied.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dekraai-630582-judge-prosecutors.html

 

[fran]

Seal Beach shootings: Will O.C. mass killer be spared death penalty?

Hearing will decide whether death penalty will be dismissed for Scott Dekraai in OC's bloodiest mass killing

Soon after Scott Dekraai murdered his estranged ex-wife and seven others at a Seal Beach beauty salon, the former tugboat crewman found himself in a jail cell next to the last inmate his attorneys would have wanted in his proximity.

This was a man prosecutors called Inmate F, and around him, defendants seemed to incriminate themselves. Now he was within earshot of Orange County’s most prolific mass shooter.

Exactly what 42-year-old Dekraai told him about his crimes, amid 132 hours of surreptitious jailhouse recordings, has never been made public. But prosecutors hoped to use it to put Dekraai on death row for the 2011 murders at Salon Meritage.

read more .............. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...ir-salon-shootings-20150311-story.html#page=1

 

[JoeFromLB]

The D.A. has been removed from the case and a judge has ruled the state's attorney general will take over. He stayed the ruling, however, until March 20 pending an appeal.

http://mynewsla.com/orange-county/2...-o-c-mass-murderer/?google_editors_picks=true

 

[kimi_SFC]

Seal Beach salon shootings: Convicted killer Scott Dekraii cries in court
28 minutes ago

(snip)

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- In a rare show of emotion, convicted killer Scott Dekraai cried while the daughter of one of the eight victims he killed at a Seal Beach salon spoke in court Friday.

Chelsea Huff, whose mother is also Dekraai's ex-wife, called for justice for the victims of the massacre.

The families expressed frustration about another delay in the case. The state attorney general's office announced Friday it's appealing a judge's decision to remove the Orange County district attorney from the case.

(snip)

Unless the appellate court rules sooner, the penalty phase of this trial is scheduled to begin July 24.

Screen grab of the victims lost at Salon Meritage:

:rose: :rose: :rose: :rose: rose: :rose: :rose: :rose:
Embedded video & More@Link:

http://abc7.com/567141/ via @abc7


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[JoeFromLB]

Even if he gets the death penalty, the chances of him being executed are slim to none. Some prisoners on Death Row in California have been there for over 30 years, and are no closer to their execution date than when they arrived. It's a scandal, really. The state has no intention of executing anyone for the indefinite future. There are 746 people currently waiting for their date with the needle.

 

[OkieGranny]

From March:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/attorney-655115-dekraai-case.html

The state Attorney General’s Office on Friday appealed a judge’s ruling removing local prosecutors from the case against Orange County’s deadliest mass killer, saying the ouster “lacks legal justification.”

State prosecutors said they also launched an investigation – at the Orange County District Attorney’s request – into allegations that local authorities misused a secret network of paid jailhouse informants and then hid the evidence.

The appeal in the Scott Dekraai case is expected to take at least a year, Deputy Attorney General Theodore Cropley told a packed Santa Ana courtroom. Further appeals could delay the trial even longer.

Dekraai, 45, pleaded guilty to killing eight people at a Seal Beach salon in October 2011 and awaits a penalty phase trial to decide whether he will receive a death sentence.

From last month:

http://www.presstelegram.com/genera...y-judge-was-right-in-kicking-da-from-the-case

At issue in the case against Dekraai, who is facing the death penalty, is the placement of an informant — Fernando Perez — next to the defendant in Orange County Jail. Perez struck up a friendship with Dekraai, prompting authorities to secretly wire his jail cell and catch him bragging about the shootings.

Orange County District Attorney’s Office prosecutors planned to use the statements against Dekraai in the penalty phase of his murder trial. Dekraai’s attorneys, however, argued that Perez was questioning Dekraai after he had already been represented by a lawyer, which is a violation of his constitutional rights. Orange County prosecutors capitulated the point during an evidentiary hearing on the issue last year and agreed not to use the statements in the penalty phase.

Goethals, in August 2014, found there was some misconduct, but stopped short of booting Rackauckas’ office from the case and dismissing the death penalty option.

New feature article on the case:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/dekraai-697917-salon-beach.html

Childers, at the door, surveyed the bodies and blood and saw no movement at first, heard no sound. He called out, “I’m here to help,” and after a moment, the other survivors emerged from their hiding places.

The three contractors began performing triage. Childers first tried to aid Laura Webb Elody, but she didn’t respond. Then he turned to her mother, Hattie Stretz, the oldest of the victims, and he saw she could be saved. Michele Fast, more grievously injured, still had a pulse as well. The others who had been gunned down in the salon were dead and beyond help. One of the rescuers saw Sandy Fannin working on her husband and told her that it was too late, that he was gone, but she still kept trying to breathe life back into Randy. When she finally stopped, she simply sat there amid the carnage and bustle and just held him.

Within minutes, police officers, firefighters and paramedics swarmed the scene. A homeless man pointed out the slumped, bleeding form of a man in his Land Rover, overlooked in the rush to aid the victims inside the salon. David Caouette still clung to life. Ambulances raced him, Fast and Stretz to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. But Caouette and Fast would be pronounced dead within hours. Stretz, though in critical condition, would recover...

Outside Salon Meritage, amid the barely controlled chaos of a combined crime scene investigation and trauma rescue, Sauerwein and a gaggle of other witnesses pointed at a white pickup truck driving slowly away from the back exit of the shopping center. Incredibly, Dekraai was still in sight.

 

[0101ABA]

August 2016

The Orange County Sheriff Department’s irregular handling of jail informant records is at the center of a renewed push by public defender Scott Sanders to save mass-murderer Scott Evans Dekraai from the death penalty.

In a Aug. 4 letter, Sanders asserts that troubling evidence disclosed since February in a separate murder case buttresses law enforcement’s “persistent efforts to obstruct justice” in the Dekraai case.

Sanders’ letter cites a record indicating that deputies surreptitiously eavesdropped on a constitutionally protected conference he had with Dekraaai in jail. And he raises questions about the veracity of public statements and court testimony by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ command staff about a here-to-fore secret log on jailed informants.

https://voiceofoc.org/2016/08/attorney-opens-new-front-in-jailhouse-snitch-scandal/

 

[0101ABA]

How massacre at Seal Beach hair salon led to an unprecedented jailhouse scandal

It started with a massacre at a hair salon near the Seal Beach Pier and morphed into one of the biggest law enforcement scandals in Orange County history.

Here’s a breakdown of the jail informant scandal from the pages of The Times.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://abc7.com/news/oc-judge-threatens-sheriff-with-contempt-in-salon-shooting-trial/1660874/

A judge threatened Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, saying he's closer to having a contempt of court hearing if her office doesn't comply with an order to turn over evidence in the case against salon killer Scott Dekraai...

According to a declaration by O.C. Sheriff's Commander William Baker filed on Friday, an "exhaustive search" of the sheriff's department's records has been completed.

The judge scoffed, "This court made an order almost four years ago. When did we finally undertake this exhaustive search?"

 

[0101ABA]

The state Attorney General’s Office will apparently be prosecuting the death penalty phase of the trial of the worst mass killer in Orange County history, meaning the Orange County district attorney’s office will be on the sidelines.

The AG’s office announced Tuesday it will not seek an appeal to the California Supreme Court of a ruling removing the Orange County District Attorney’s Office from further prosecution of Scott Evans Dekraai, the worst mass killer in the county’s history.

http://mynewsla.com/orange-county/2...h-penalty-phase-of-countys-worst-mass-killer/

 

[0101ABA]

SACRAMENTO - Today, Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced that his office will continue to seek the death penalty in the case of Scott DeKraai, who pleaded guilty to murdering eight people and attempting to murder a ninth person at a Seal Beach hair salon in 2011.

“This tragic event has caused so much harm to far too many families,” said Attorney General Becerra. “After weighing the evidence, considering the law and the responsibilities of my office, I have concluded that the appropriate course of action is to seek the death penalty in this case.”

The Attorney General assumed responsibility for the prosecution of the penalty phase of the case after the California Court of Appeal upheld Orange County Superior Court Judge Timothy Goethals’ order recusing the Orange County District Attorney’s Office from the prosecution.

The victims were Michelle Fournier, Christy Wilson, Randy Fannin, Lucia Kondas, Victoria Buzzo, Laura Webb Elody, Michele Fast, and David Caouette. DeKraai also shot and wounded Hattie Stretz.

https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-relea...death-penalty-seal-beach-multiple-murder-case

 

[margarita25]

Marking my radio to listen to Tricia's True Crime Radio tonight, who will have a renown author and expert on shootings/school shootings. Will find post and bump.

Link (also on WS home page):
(Tonight 8:00 PM Eastern on Websleuths Radio)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/websleuths/2017/04/19/websleuths-radio-the-facebook-murder

ETA: Info about tonight's guest:
https://schoolshooters.info/about-dr-langman

"About Dr. Langman

Peter Langman, Ph.D., is a sought-after expert on the psychology of school shooters. He conducts trainings on understanding the psychology of school shooters and identifying potential school shooters for professionals in mental health, education, and law enforcement. He has spoken at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA, been hired by Homeland Security to train professionals in the United States, and been recruited by the State Department to speak to international audiences.

Dr. Langman served on Pennsylvania’s Joint State Government Commission’s Advisory Committee on Violence Prevention. In the wake of the Sandy Hook attack, his recommendations on preventing school shootings were presented by the CEO of the American Psychological Association to President Obama. His research on school shooters has been cited in congressional testimony on Capitol Hill.

Dr. Langman’s new book, School Shooters: Understanding High School, College, and Adult Perpetrators, was published in January 2015. His previous book, Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters, was named an Outstanding Academic Title of 2009 by the American Library Association. It has been translated into German, Finnish, and Dutch.

Dr. Langman has been interviewed over three hundred times by media outlets in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, South America, Asia, and the Middle East. He has appeared on The Today Show, 20/20, CBS, CNN, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, Fox, and the BBC. His research on school shooters has been featured in articles carried by The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, Yahoo News, and thousands of other news outlets.

Dr. Langman writes a blog for Psychology Today. In 2008, Dr. Langman received the Psychology in the Media Award from the Pennsylvania Psychological Association for his work on educating the public about school shooters and school safety. In 2012, he was given the Sally K. Lenhardt Professional Leadership Award by Lesley University for his research and work on preventing school shootings. In 2016, he was the recipient of the Innovation in Research and Publication Award from the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association for his article “Multi-Victim School Shootings in the United States: A 50-Year Review.”

In addition to his research on school shootings, Dr. Langman is president of the Greater Lehigh Valley chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and served three years on the board of the Lehigh Valley chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Campus Behavioral Intervention and on the advisory board of the National Behavioral Intervention Team Association (NaBITA).

Dr. Langman received his B.A. in psychology from Clark University, his M.A. in counseling psychology from Lesley College, and his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Lehigh University.

Dr. Langman’s first book, Jewish Issues in Multiculturalism, was hailed as “a landmark contribution” to multicultural studies. In addition to being a psychologist, Dr. Langman is a poet and playwright. View information about his plays. View his poetry book,The Last Days of John Keats and Other Poems."

 

[0101ABA]

Judge considers pulling death penalty for Seal Beach mass murderer Scott Dekraai

The judge in the case of admitted mass murderer Scott Dekraai might remove execution as a possible penalty because of the misuse of jailhouse informants by local prosecutors and sheriff deputies.

 

[JoeFromLB]

Orange County Sheriff is preparing to testify in another round of evidentiary hearings to settle the question of the death penalty for Scott Dekraai.

http://www.presstelegram.com/genera...who-killed-8-in-seal-beach?source=most_viewed

 

[JoeFromLB]

A Superior Court judge has spared Dekraai the death penalty due to the sheriffs department's misconduct. I assume he will get life without parole.

http://ktla.com/2017/08/18/mass-sho...s-on-fallout-from-o-c-jail-informant-scandal/

 

[JoeFromLB]

Dekraai was sentenced this morning. Eight consecutive life terms without parole, plus 232 years.

He will serve his sentence in a maximum security prison. The judge had some strong words for the murderer.

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/09/2...er-gets-eight-life-terms-one-for-each-murder/

 

[YESorNO]

A Mass Shooting Tore Their Lives Apart. A Corruption Scandal Crushed Their Hopes For Justice.
As prosecutors fixated on the death penalty for a killer, some family members of his victims found solace in an unlikely figure... the gunman’s attorney.

03/09/2018

"LOS ANGELES ― One morning last March, in an overlit courtroom in Orange County, the lawyer for the man who killed Bethany Webb’s sister walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m so sorry for putting you through this,” public defender Scott Sanders told her.

Webb was moved. In the six years since a man named Scott Dekraai had confessed to killing eight people, including Webb’s sister and a close friend, at a beauty salon in Orange County, Sanders was the only official involved in the case who had offered her any personal consolation.

The sheriffs and prosecutors, who were supposed to be on Webb’s side, had devoted over half a decade to the pursuit of one goal: winning the death penalty for Dekraai. Webb had begged prosecutors — first District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, and later, when his office was thrown off the case, the California prosecutors who replaced him — to stop seeking death. They ignored her. And Sanders had thwarted them at every turn, revealing egregious prosecutorial misconduct and uncovering a major scandal involving the illegal use of informants inside county jails.

Defense lawyers and families of murder victims do not, typically, become allies. But by that March day in court, Webb’s faith in the prosecution was long gone, eroded by years of hearings, years of excuses from prosecutors, and years of false testimony from the DA’s allies in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department...."

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entr...cid=newsltushpmgnews__TheMorningEmail__031218

Link: https://www.mercurynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/victims.jpg

(...On the top row, from left, are Michelle Fournier, Michele Fast, David Caouette and Christy Lynn Wilson. On bottom row, from left are Laura Lee Elody, Lucia Bernice Kondas, Victoria Ann Buzzo and Randy Lee Fannin.)
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