Geneva Woman Pleads Guilty in Mass-Murder Conspiracy Plot at Canadian Mall

A Geneva woman who sparked an online relationship with a Canadian man who, like her, was obsessed with mass murder, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to commit murder on Valentine's Day 2015 at a mall in Canada.

Lindsay Kantha Souvannarath, 25, was arrested at the Halifax airport back in February 2015 as was co-conspirator, Randall Steven Shepherd, who was waiting at the airport for Souvannarath to arrive, the Chicago Tribune reports. The duo along with the man Souvannarath originally met online, James Gamble, were planning to open fire two days later on the Halifax Shopping Centre.

Souvannarath entered the guilty plea during a routine court appearance before the Novia Scotia Supreme Court, the National Post reports. Chris Hansen, a spokeswoman for the public prosecution service, told the newspaper the guilty plea came as a surprise.

Shepherd entered a guilty plea to the same charge of conspiracy to commit murder last November.

Gamble, who Souvannarath would chat with online regarding both their interests in mass murders and her interest in Nazism fatally, shot himself when police went to arrest him after they received a CrimeStoppers tip on Feb. 13 regarding the trio's mass shooting plans, the Daily Herald reports. Gamble was friends with Shepherd and both were obsessed with death and morbidity.

The group had planned to open fire on the Halifax Shopping Center and, according to a statement of facts, picked the location because they thought it would cause the most amount of panic, the Daily Mail reports.

Gamble told Souvannarath during their online chats that Shepherd, his only friend, was not overly eager to participate in a mass murder and asked if she would join in, according to the Daily Mail. She agreed and they discussed details such as the time, place, what weapons to use and whether they should "taunt the victims.

Shepherd has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the plot, the Daily Herald reports. A sentencing hearing for Souvannarath is set for Oct. 5 and 6. She faces a maximum of life in prison.

Early signs of Souvannarath’s possible obsession with mass murder and death may have surfaced in her student writings at a small, private college in Cedar Rapids, IA. Souvannarath’s former English professor at Coe College described her to the Cedar Rapids Gazette as a talented writer whose work often contained disturbing themes.

“She knew how to put together a sentence and she had a command of detail,” English professor Charles Aukema told the paper. “Sometimes it was pretty sick detail.”

The professor also said Souvannarath never spoke in class or critiqued other students’ work. She was something of an introvert who did not appear to have any friends, Cedar Rapids Gazette reported.

Aukema recalled for the paper that one of Souvannarath’s stories about a young boy’s obsession with death and talking to dying people was “like a method actor trying to get into the mindset of a killer and then becomes a serial killer.”

As an undergraduate student, Souvannarath spent two years as a manuscript reader for the Coe Review, a student literary magazine published by the college’s English department.

She is listed in the student literary magazine’s contributors’ notes in the Fall 2013 issue as a senior studying creative writing and English.

Souvannarath also had a short story published in the Coe Review called “My Pet Skeleton,” about a child whose imaginary friend is a skeleton:

“Everyone else’s skeletons are locked up in closets. Most people think they should stay there. Maybe you do too. But I wouldn’t say anything bad about skeletons. There’s one inside you.”

• New Details Emerge of Geneva Woman In Foiled Canadian Mass Murder Spree: Authorities

A former neighbor of the Geneva woman remembered the Souvannarath family as “very nice people” that participated in neighborhood block parties, Halloween parties and Easter egg hunts.

The neighbor told Associated Press that young Souvannarath was a “little strange,” and went through a phase of dressing in the black, Gothic Style.

Associated Press also reported that Geneva police assisted Canadian authorities by searching Souvannarath’s home on Feb. 13.

Canadian authorities stated that Souvannarath and the two young Canadian men formed a friendship online. The Politicalgates blog said that the three may have met through online gaming.

Three long-barrel rifles were discovered in Gamble’s home. Facebook photos appearing to be Gamble show the deceased 19-year-old posing with pictures of Nazis and quoting the teen Columbine killers, reports said.
Canadian authorities have ruled out terrorism as a motive, instead attributing the foiled plot to “a group of murderous misfits.”

Souvannarath, who has no prior criminal record, allegedly confessed the group’s plans to police. Canadian authorities also said that Souvannarath had pre-written Tweets to be released after her death, the Associated Press reported.

Had the suspects been successful “it would have been devastating,” Justice Minister Peter MacKay said Saturday. “Mass casualties would have been a real possibility.”

Lorraine Swanson contributed to this article.

Photo caption: Halifax Shopping Centre Photo credit: GoogleMaps