A version of this article originally appeared in Good Housekeeping magazine. Instead, he purchased the weapon that his daughter would later use to target the school. And despite her efforts to downplay her own crime, Spencer herself has admitted that her actions may have indeed led to other similar attacks. Standing 52 tall and weighing 89 pounds, Brenda Spencer was once described as too small to be scary., true stories behind Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. 40 years ago, Brenda Spencer took lives, changed lives in a mass The Brenda Spencer Murder Case, which was published in 2012, and is the single best source I am aware of regarding Spencer. Spencer spent the next several hours barricaded in her house talking to police negotiators. This is over. Despite his belief in the teenage killer, he was not hired to represent Brenda at her parole hearings. Then, she aimed it out the window and began firing at the kids. The principal and a custodian were killed; eight children and police officer Robert Robb were injured. However, Brendas riot initiated a sharp increase in the frequency of mass shootings, as well as the number of fatalities and casualties. At her 2001 parole hearing, Spencer claimed that her father had been subjecting her to beatings and sexual abuse, but he said the allegations were not true. I felt like he wanted me to kill myself. Brendas attorney leveraged her fathers ill-treatment as an explanation for her senseless violence, yet their efforts were fruitless. Yet even though the property was reclaimed for a different purpose, the developer has installed a memorial at the corner of Lake Atlin and Lake Angela streets, honoring the lives of Burton Wragg and Mike Suchar. This is known as restitutiongiving back what was taken unlawfully. Considering Brendas temperament, this shouldve been a big red flag, but the warning signs were overlooked - until it was too late. Skylar stuck by her, though, knowing that change was a natural part of life, and she did not listen to those who felt that she should stay away from Shelia. They were practically family, and it was totally normal for them to stroll right into each others houses with no questions asked from their parents. At age fifteen she was arrested for shooting out the windows in the school with her air rifle as well as burglary. For years, Haley was taught to fear Brenda Spencer and stay silent. Not long after Brenda Spencer went to jail, her father married his daughter's teenage cellmate. Brenda Ann SPENCER Homicide Juvenile - School shooting 2 January 29, 1979 Same day April 3, 1962 Principal Burton Wragg, 53 and Michael Suchar, 56 Shooting San Diego, California, USA photo gallery The two victims were Principal Burton Wragg and custodian Mike Suchar. This is over! Patricia cut in saying, My husbands trying to contain her. . Father of Brenda Spencer. One of his most traumatizing memories is lying in the ambulance next to Mike Suchar when the ambulance rounded a curve, and the dead custodian rolled on top of him. She just sat there and glared at me," Miller says. What on that day had been unimaginable -- that a school could become a killing field -- is grimly familiar. She repeatedly broke the windows at the Cleveland school with her BB gun. Thanks again for the article, and please keep em coming! 'I don't like Mondays' killer is inducted into the 'Golden Girls' club San Diego Union-Tribune/Wikimedia Commons (cropped)The arrest of school shooter Brenda Spencer, shortly after her infamous I dont like Mondays quote. In her hands, she held a Ruger 10/22 semi-automatic .22 caliber rifle. "I saw the principal in the sticker bush, moaning," she flashes back. I did however spend a couple of years working in a Federal maximum security Penitentiary (USP). [27] In 2018, the school was demolished to construct a housing development, and the plaque was relocated to the former school's southern edge, at the corner of Lake Atlin Avenue and Lake Angela Drive. . He didnt even call the boys parents. To this day, Cam remembers the sight of his principal and head custodian, bleeding to death on the school property. Loading your audio article. Was this just normal teenage drama, or was something deeper and more disturbing going on? In 1979, 16 year old Brenda Ann Spencer was arrested after - Reddit This livens up the day.. Cam saw the principal and the custodian both lying on the ground, and thought, with childlike logic, that if he could just make it out of that square of sidewalk, "it will all go away.". Blue was Brenda Spencer's favorite color, he later heard. The day after that tweet, Skylar came home from work and kissed her parents Mary and David goodnight. A few years later, in 1976, an adult male shooter killed seven people and wounded two after shooting at Cal State Fullerton. One time sophomore year, me and Rachel were at practice for Pride and Prejudice, and Rachel had her phone up to her ear, and she was laughing. Rachel, on the other hand, was quite quite different from Shelia. Not long after Brenda Spencer went to jail, her father married his daughter's teenage cellmate. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. A Case of the Mondays: Brenda Spencer and the Cleveland Elementary Then, read about the Dunblane Massacre, the deadliest school shooting in the U.K. Before The Columbine Massacre Or Parkland Shooting, There Was Brenda Ann Spencer. Sometimes Wallace Spencer would say hello when he came to pick his daughter up, and Buell is certain that he knew who she was, and she wonders now what he thought. When another school shooting is on the evening news, be it Jonesboro or Paducah or Pearl or Littleton, Cam Miller finds himself watching for the fearful faces of young survivors. She started dressing as a boy and learned to hunt, under her father's influence. A Case of the Mondays: Brenda Spencer and the Cleveland Elementary brenda spencer father, wallace In 16-year-old Brenda Spencer, we find the genesis monster. When Shelia and her mom left the restaurant, the police came in, informing the girl that she was under arrest. The standard Ruger 10/22 features a blued finish and walnut stock, though there are plenty of factory options available. According to Brendas friends and classmates, she had hinted at doing something big to get on television. Authorities say they are investigating the marriage of Wallace Spencer, the 41-year-old father of convicted San Diego schoolyard sniper Brenda Spencer, to his daughter's former 17-year-old cellmate. She actually said, It was a lot of fun seeing children shot. She also explained that it was her intent to leave the house guns ablazing. She resembled Brenda. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows, Brenda Spencer kills two men and wounds nine children as they enter the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego. During this time, Spencer gave her infamous interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune over the phone. brenda ann spencer father. [16] Crime-scene photos contradict these accounts. Police were forced to send negotiators to speak with her, but she refused to cooperate. Brendas actions may have been rapid, but they had an everlasting impact on the community and family of the victims. [31], The 1982 JapaneseAmerican documentary film The Killing of America depicts the incident. Under the terms of her sentencing, Spencer became eligible for hearings to consider her suitability for parole in 1993. Skylar thought she could save her, she stated. Related Tags: Mary Neese said, She proceeded to tell me that her, Skylar, and Rachel snuck out the night before and they had driven around Star City, and getting high, and that the two girls dropped her back off at the house. Soaps.com has the latest, new General Hospital spoilers for two weeks ahead from Monday, May 1, to Friday, May 12. When you get past the grotesque actions of the two girls, you are left with a grieving family who not just lost their daughter but took their daughters killers in and gave them love and hospitality. The police parked a garbage truck in the road to shield the school and evacuated the injured children to safety. When questioned why she did it, she simply said, "I don't like Mondays." . She resembled Brenda. There were questions he meant to ask: How could you do something like that? Yet after years of holding her tongue, she decided to break the silence and tell her grandfathers story, helping to develop school safety curricula and guides for parents. Skylar walked back to the car to get the lighter when her friends snuck up on her. While Shelia had said she picked up Skylar, there were inconsistencies in the story that raised some questions. As reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, she pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in 1980. Cam would insist on touching each pane of glass, to assure himself that none was broken, that "she" hadn't slipped inside. Whether these theories are true or not, Brenda Spencer was tried as an adult and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and nine counts of assault. The charge was first-degree murder, and the case had so much negativity surrounding it as well as such little likelihood that Shelia could be innocent that it was hard for her to get an attorney. Skylar and Shelia had a friendship that went back to when they were young kids. She also told police negotiators the children and adults whom she had shot were easy targets and that she was going to "come out shooting". Across the street, inside a cluttered one-story home, Brenda Spencer, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, was alone. When I was growing up kids brought guns to school all the time. Haley Wragg, Burtons granddaughter, was taught to fear Brendas release from prison. To this day, Cam Miller hesitates before dressing in blue. Patricias call led to authorities coming to carry Rachel off to a mental institution where she remained for three days. She was frequently absent from school. According to the San Diego Police Museum, she warned authorities that she was still armed and threatened to come out shooting if she was forced to leave her house. The Archangel Nomad kit is a drop-in polymer chassis that makes the 10/22 into a proper facsimile of an HK G36 assault rifle. I didnt know the story. The Devil Conspiracy - Wikipedia As of 2022, Spencer has been unsuccessful at six parole board hearings. Then, she put the rifle down, barricaded herself inside her home, and waited. Sometimes Wallace Spencer would say hello when he came to pick his daughter up, and Buell is certain that he knew who she was, and she wonders now what he thought. We strive for accuracy and fairness. As a consequence of her actions, Brendas probation officer suggested that she spend some time in a mental hospital to treat depression. Especially California state prisons. Have All Attackers in US School Shootings Been Men? One week after that, the police were able to find a body out in the forest. Rachels friends had the same exact concern about Shelia, who they felt was turning their friend into a new person. Prior to this law, missing persons reports were filed too slowly. During the trial, several pieces of evidence emerged which shed a bit of light on her demented mindset. Her memories of that morning form a terrible collage: the principal dying; doctors cutting off her bloody Winnie-the-Pooh shirt; nurses calling her name but Christy finding it impossible to open her eyes until she hears her father's voice. She had skipped class that day and later claimed that she had washed her epilepsy medicine down with alcohol. Teen school shooter Brenda Spencer who 'didn't like Mondays' and Brenda Ann Spencer was born in San Diego, California, on April 3, 1962. At the time, she lived in a house across the street from the school. I dont like Mondays, she said. However, if you took a closer look you could see that there was some conflict brewing amongst them, as you would expect from a group of high school girls. Despite this gross gender imbalance among the worlds criminals, when it came time for Satan to kick off the ghastly phenomenon that is the modern school spree shooting it was a woman who first squeezed the trigger. Brenda shot the first police officer to respond in the neck with her rifle. I can still hear it. A custodian, Michael Suchar, was also killed as he attempted to pull a student to safety. But whenever she did attend class, she raised eyebrows. The reason murder rises to the level of a capital crime is because you cant restore what you have stolenanothers life. This might be why she put out a tweet on July 4th, 2012 saying Stress will be the death of me. Little did she or her parents know that she would soon be gone, and stress would have nothing to do with it. One woman is forced to take drastic measures, while another is in for a big shock plus, Felicia delivers bad news, Laura is horrified, and Dex is thrown for a loop! He took a month-long training course to learn how to handle a weapon himself with more confidence. The memorial was sponsored by the people in the community. Brenda Spencer, aged 16, fired rifle shots into a school playground in California in January 1979, killing the head teacher and caretaker and wounding eight children and a police officer. [1][5] Although Spencer showed exceptional ability as a photographer, winning first prize in a Humane Society competition, she was generally uninterested in school. On January 29, 1979, in San Diego, California, 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer, who lived just across the road from the Cleveland Elementary School, opened fire on the students and school personnel with a .22-caliber rifle. She started her killing spree to 'liven up the day.' Spencer's murderous rampage might have claimed more victims had the police not obstructed her line of fire using a garbage truck. When the police ventured inside the Spencer home, they were shocked at what they found. How do you rectify that? In the 19th century, shed have been hanged and buried in an unmarked grave!! . She was using a rifle that her father had . [3] Geldof has later mentioned that, "[Spencer] wrote to me saying 'she was glad she'd done it because I'd made her famous,' which is not a good thing to live with. Rachel was charged with second-degree murder, and for that she was given a sentence of 30 years. "I don't like Mondays," 16-year-old Brenda Spencer calmly explained to a reporter who reached her by phone during a siege that would last six hours. Wragg and custodian Michael Suchar were killed. When someone posts an ill advised accusation against you or your weekly audience, please allow us to respond in a timely manner. When out of earshot we called him Poach Smith. Spencer, then 16, armed with the rifle and scope her father gave her for Christmas, started picking off students heading to the elementary school directly across the street from her Lake Atlin. She says, I know there was a lot of turmoil in the family every time Brenda was up for parole. However, Rachel was not able to pinpoint exactly where they buried her, and the January snowfall didnt help either. The judge sentenced Shelia to life with the possibility of parole after 15 years. [18] Early reports indicated that Spencer had scratched the words "courage" and "pride" into her own skin; Spencer corrected this during her parole hearing as reading "unforgiven" and "alone". The MSRP for the base model 10/22 today is $309. The standard .22LR rifle feeds from a flush-mounted 10-round helical-feed magazine, though aftermarket magazines and drums carry fifty rounds or more. The 9-acre site has been repurposed for housing, under the KB developer team, with units available starting at $700,000. Thanks, friends, love hanging out with you all too. One day before that she wrote, You doing s*** like that is why I can NEVER completely trust you. It definitely hints that something bad was brewing between her and her friends. His name was Coach Smith. Shelia had some incomplete answers for the Neeses. Prison should be reserved for those guilty of minor or first time felonies, where there is a chance of rehabilitation. He wishes he had. As a voluntary member of the program, Brenda enjoys a front-of-line pass for meals and medication lines, and authorization to eat in a specific dining room. . "Six months after I got my jacket back, I found a hole in the hood," she recalls, surmising that a third bullet passed through it without striking her. Hart was a private investigator involved in the case and interviewed Spencer's mother, father, brother, sister, friends, and neighbors within months of the attack. Brenda Ann Spencer (born on April 3, 1962) is an incarcerated American murderer who in 1979, committed a school shooting at the Grover Cleveland Elementary School in the San Diego Unified School District in the San Carlos neighbourhood of San Diego, California, U.S. At the time, Brenda lived in a house across the street from the school. Christy Buell, a survivor of the 1979 shooting, said that she was "shocked, saddened, horrified" by the headlines concerning the 1989 shooting. If I hear a loud bang or a car backfire, it gets my heart beating, but that's about it.". We stabbed her, Rachel said, and it immediately became clear that Skylars death was not accidental but premeditated and over a month in the works. Another tweet around that time spoke of a similar feeling of betrayal. She was constantly posting on social media about her missing friend, with one of her posts saying rest easy, Skylar, youll ALWAYS be my best friend. From 2005 to 2017, it housed the Magnolia Science Academy,[26] a public charter middle school serving students in grades 68. She reportedly answered: "I don't like Mondays. On Monday, January 29, 1979, a journalist from The San Diego Union-Tribune got the quote of a lifetime from 16-year-old Brenda Ann Spencer. [19] In 2005, a San Diego deputy district attorney cited an incident of self-harm from four years earlier, when Spencer's girlfriend was released from jail, as showing that Spencer was psychotic and unfit to be released. The program offers privileges to incarcerated individuals that voluntarily join the program after the age of 55 years old. By the time that she eventually left the house, police were desperate to find out the motivation for her morbid actions - but nothing couldve prepared them for her response. Brenda Spencer - IMDb History, This livens up the day. She informed him that she had chosen the kids across the street because they made easy targets. In late January 1979, Brenda Spencer killed two adults and injured eight children and one adult because of her hate for Mondays. Murder, rapes, gang rapes, assaults, forced prostitution, etc, etc.