Death Penalty Off Table For Convicted Seal Beach Mass Murderer

SEAL BEACH, CA — It started with a morning in Seal Beach's Salon and ended in a bloodbath that claimed the lives of eight victims. What has happened since is arguably one of the biggest disasters in the history of Orange County's justice system, stretching from the court house to the Orange County Jail system, leaving witnesses to wonder if the punishment fits the crime.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals ruled Friday that Scott Dekraai, the worst mass killer in the county's history, will not face the death penalty.

According to Judge Goethals, Dekraai will receive life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty on May 2, 2014, to murdering eight victims -- including his ex-wife -- and attempting to murder a ninth, 77-year-old Hattie Stretz, who survived the bloodbath at a Seal Beach beauty salon.

During the course of this case, victims' families have been forced to relive the events of that day in court since 2011 while judge Goethals, who already had recused the Orange County District Attorney's Office from the case, forced a thorough examination during three rounds of evidentiary hearings stemming from widespread abuses of an Orange County jailhouse informant program.

Inside the courtroom, relatives of victims urged Deputy Attorney General Michael Murphy, the lead prosecutor on the case, not to appeal this new ruling.

"I honor this judge and what it took to do an unpopular thing in Orange County, but the right thing for everyone involved here," Bethany Webb, whose sister was killed in the shooting rampage said, as reported by the Orange County Register. Another statement from Paul Wilson, husband of Christy Wilson who was shot and killed in the 2011 attack.

"I’m happy with the decision, the feeling of relief. The fact I don’t have to worry about it any more is huge," Wilson said.

Dekraii was scheduled for a September 22nd sentencing, at which he will receive eight consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

In prior rulings, Goethals punished prosecutors for the violations regarding the use of informants and the failure to exchange evidence with defense attorneys by limiting what evidence they can use in the penalty phase of the trial.

Dekraai already has pleaded guilty to eight murders and one attempted murder.

Goethals heard arguments last week from a prosecutor from the Attorney General's Office, which took over the case when the District Attorney was recused, as well as Dekraai's attorneys.

Dekraai's attorney, Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, argued that his client cannot trust the county to turn over all favorable evidence, so he could never be sure he'll ever get a fair hearing.

Deputy Attorney General Michael Murphy, however, said that none of the corruption involving the use of confidential informants in the jail precluded Dekraai from getting a fair hearing in the penalty phase of his trial.

Deputy Public Defender Sara Ross asked Goethals to impose "creative sanctions" on the prosecution team when Goethals raised the issue of whether he had the constitutional authority to dismiss the death penalty as a punishment for Dekraai.

The allegations of misconduct in the Dekraai case date back to January 2014, when his attorneys filed a 500-plus-page motion alleging widespread misconduct in the use of jailhouse informants to obtain information to help investigators

Sanders argued that the government violated his client's constitutional rights by having informant Fernando Perez put in a cell next to Dekraai to get information from the defendant when he was already represented by an attorney, which is illegal.

Goethals found the placement of Perez was a coincidence based on a nurse's recommendation. Sanders continued to argue last week that it was a conspiracy to violate his client's rights.

Perez's notes to his handlers led prosecutors to get Dekraai's cell wired, and he made what many sources have characterized as insensitive and callous comments about the massacre at the Seal Beach beauty salon.

Prosecutors wanted to use the comments in the death penalty phase of the trial, but Goethals forbade it.

Bethany Webb, the sister of Dekraai victim Laura Webb Elody, had said she hoped that Goethals dismissed the death penalty.

She said 90 to 95 percent of the victims' families wanted the attorney general to stop pursuing the ultimate punishment for Dekraai.

"We don't want to come here anymore," Webb said. "I'm begging the judge to realize how broken this is and to set us free."

“We are disappointed by today’s ruling. The facts in this case clearly supported a death penalty verdict," Orange County Sheriffs Department information officer Lieutenant Lane Lagaret said in release shortly after the ruling was handed down. "On October 12, 2011, Scott Dekraai executed and confessed to the deadliest shooting in the history of Orange County, long before he was booked into the Orange County Jail. Notwithstanding the issues that were raised by the Court’s ruling, we believe the defendant would have received a fair trial during the penalty phase of the criminal proceedings. The decision to remove the death penalty rests at the feet of Judge Goethals and nobody else."

The victims of Scott Dekraai's shooting rampage were:

• 54-year-old Victoria Buzzo
• 64-year-old David Caouette
• 62-year-old Randy Lee Fannin
• 47-year-old Michelle Deschbach Fast
• 48-year-old Michelle Marie Fournier
• 65-year-old Lucia Bernice Kondas
• 46-year-old Laura Webb Elody
• 47-year-old Christy Lynn Wilson
• Hattie Stretz, who survived the shooting.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Seal Beach Massacre Survivors and Family to Make Announcement Regarding Dekraai
• Death Penalty or Life in Prison? Seal Beach Mass Murderer's Fate Remains in Question
• Quick Facts on Accused Killer Scott Dekraai
• Dekraai Pleads Not Guilty to Seal Beach Killings, Victim Families Speak Out

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