UPDATE:
Two months after the deadly shooting at Salon Meritage in the closeknit southern California community of Seal Beach, the accused shooter, Scott Dekraai, has plead not-guilty to eight counts of murder and one account of attempted murder. According to KTLA News, prosecutors will try to prove that Dekraai's actions on the afternoon of October 12, 2011 were premeditated, where his defense team contends he was insane at the time of the shooting rampage. Dekraai is reported to have worn a bulletproof vest and arrived armed with three guns, reloading one of his guns during the attack. Allegedly Dekraai shot his victims multiple times to insure they were dead.
According to Orange County District Attorney, Tony Rackauckas, Dekraai singled out his wife's co-workers at the Meritage Salon during their bitter custody battle because, "he considered the people she worked with to be her enablers." One of the murdered victims, Christy Wilson, had accompanied Dekraai's wife, Michelle, to the custody hearing and testified on her behalf. Christy's husband, Paul Wilson, said his wife stood up for Michelle because she felt it was the right thing to do.
To donate money to a fund for the victims of the Seal Beach shooting, go to the Salon Meritage Memorial Fund at: http://www.salonmeritagefund.org/
A shooting occured Wednesday, October 12 at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach, CA. At this time six people are reported dead according to the Los Angeles Times. The Seal Beach police reported that a suspect is in custody.
A bitter custody battle between Scott Dekraai and his ex-wife hairstylist Michelle Fournier over their eight year old son is suspected to be part of the motive behind the shooting. Michelle Fournier was working at Salon Meritage at the time of the shooting and was one of the eight victims fatally shot. A ninth victim is in critical care. The names of the victims killed released by Seal Beach Police are are the salon's owner Randy Lee Fannin, 62, Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54, Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65, Laura Lee Elody, 46, Christy Lynn Wilson, 47, Michelle Marie Fournier, 48, Michelle Daschbach, 47, and David Caouette, 64.
Our thoughts are with Salon Meritage and their family and friends.
