Crime & Safety

Man Accused In Killing Spree Pleads Not Guilty

Scott Evans Dekraai is accused of killing eight people, including Murrieta resident Randy Fannin, 62, during a shooting rampage at a Seal Beach salon.

The man accused in a pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he killed his ex-wife and seven others, including a local Southwest Riverside resident.

Scott Evans Dekraai was arraigned this morning in Orange County Superior Court on eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.

Dekraai is accused of arming himself, walking into Salon Meritage on Oct. 12 and firing. Among the victims were his ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, 48, and

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The other victims included Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54, Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65, Laura Lee Elody, 46, Christy Lynn Wilson, 47, Michele Daschbach Fast, 47, and David Caouette, 64. Hattie Stretz, 73, was also shot but survived.  

The Associated Press is reporting that after his Oct. 12 arrest a few blocks away from the salon, Dekraai told police that he shot his ex-wife, her friend, and Fannin, who headed toward him with scissors, and a number of others whom he saw as "collateral damage.”

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, who was in a custody dispute with Fournier over their 8-year-old son.

The Associated Press reports that court papers show Dekraai, a former tugboat operator, “was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after a 2007 accident left him unable to work. The 42-year-old had also told the family court-appointed psychologist that he had been diagnosed as bipolar, according to John Cate, Fournier's attorney.”

Dekraai is being held without bail.


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