Eight fatally shot near Appomattox VA-Gunman Christopher Speight Surrendered

[MuffyBee]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/19/AR2010011904322.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Several people fatally shot near Appomattox
By Martin Weil and Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Several people were shot to death Tuesday near historic Appomattox, Va., according to state police, in what a spokesman for Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell called " a horrific tragedy."

Authorities did not release the number of dead, but in a move that indicated his view of the severity of the matter, McDonnell said he was sending his chief public safety official to the scene to join the head of the state police.

Authorities said they believed a suspect in the killings to be surrounded in a wooded area near where they apparently occurred. At one point during the incident, a shot apparently fired by the suspect, disabled a state police helicopter.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-01-19-virginia-shooting_N.htm

Official: Eight killed in Va. shootings


APPOMATTOX, Va. (AP) — A lone shooter killed eight people Tuesday in central Virginia, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press, and police have the suspect circled in the woods where they believe he is hiding.

State police say there were multiple deaths and injuries and that one shooter was responsible. They could not say what sparked the violence. The official who gave the number of dead asked for anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the investigation.

The drama paralyzed the rural area in southwest Virginia as police swarmed forests trying to flush out the suspect who, at one point in the manhunt, fired at a state police helicopter, forcing it to land with a ruptured fuel tank. No police were injured after one or more rounds struck the helicopter. No police were injured.

Canine units and a National Guard helicopter with thermal imaging equipment were being used to search a wooded area late Tuesday.

"They are searching the area and will continue until the suspect is apprehended," State Police Sgt. Thomas Molnar said.
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[MuffyBee]

http://www2.wsls.com/sls/news/local/lynchburg/article/police_investigate_shots_fired_near_appomattox/75735/

Bombs found at Appomattox Co. killings crime scene
January 20, 2010
(Video available in article)


Christopher Speight

Police have found several suspcious devices at the crime scene, and will detonate the devices in a safe manner, rather than trying to examine and disarm the devices. Several explosions may be heard in the area of the crime scene.

APPOMATTOX, Va. (AP) - Police say they’ve found a “multitude” of explosive devices at the Virginia home of a man suspected of killing eight people.
    State police Sgt. Thomas Molnar says bomb technicians are detonating the devices to make them safe. There’s no indication any exploded on their own.
    Christopher Bryan Speight surrendered early Wednesday after police say the 39-year-old spent the night hiding in the woods. He had no weapons with him, but police say they were concerned he had rigged his house with explosives.
    Authorities still haven’t disclosed the motive for the shootings or how the victims and shooter were related.
    Police say four bodies were found outside Speight’s house and three inside. Another badly wounded man was found in the road and died at the hospital.

MORE...

[MuffyBee]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6827238.html

Explosives found at home of suspected Va. gunman
By VICKI SMITH and DENA POTTER Associated Press Writers © 2010 The Associated Press
Jan. 20, 2010, 7:51PM

 APPOMATTOX, Va. — A bomb squad discovered a multitude of explosives Wednesday at the home of a man accused of shooting eight people to death, and crews were detonating the devices as more details about the suspected gunman came to light.

Christopher Bryan Speight, a 39-year-old security guard, surrendered to police at daybreak Wednesday after leading authorities on an 18-hour manhunt following the slayings at a house in rural central Virginia where deputies found a mortally wounded man and seven bodies.

As of Wednesday afternoon, bomb squads had detonated seven explosives. The blasting was expected to continue into Thursday.

Speight had no weapons when he surrendered at the house. He was wearing a bulletproof vest over a black fleece jacket, camouflage pants and mud-caked boots. Neither the sheriff nor a state police spokeswoman would disclose what Speight said when he gave up.

Authorities remained tightlipped on most details surrounding the slayings, including any possible motive. Nor did they immediately identify any of the victims or their relationship to the suspect. Investigators would say only that he knew his victims.

Speight was being held on one charge of first-degree murder Wednesday night, said Lt. J.D. Baker of the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center.

Speight co-owned and lived in the home where some of the bodies were found. Reporters were allowed to see the home Wednesday. The two-story house had a big patio, where there was furniture, a children's bicycle and a plastic basketball hoop. The yard was landscaped and well-manicured.

Neighbor Monte W. Mays said Speight's mother deeded the house to Speight and his sister in 2006, shortly before she died of brain cancer.

Mays, the county's retired commissioner of accounts, said Speight was a good neighbor. They waved as they passed each other on the road and sent their dogs out to play with one another.

"All the dealings I've ever had with him have been cordial and polite," Mays said. "We got along fine."

Speight had long been a gun enthusiast and enjoyed target shooting at a range on his property, Mays said. But the shooting recently became a daily occurrence, with Speight firing what Mays said were high-powered rifles.

"Then we noticed he was doing it at nighttime," and the gunfire started going deeper into the woods, Mays said.

Mays said the entire community is devastated and wondering what triggered the slayings.

"The only one who's going to know now is Chris," he said.

David Anderson, co-owner of the Sunshine Market grocery store in Lynchburg, where Speight sometimes provided security, said Speight was worried that his sister and brother-in-law wanted to kick him out of the house.

Speight never wanted to talk about it, but he "constantly paced the floor," Anderson said. "I thought he was going to wear a trench in it."

Clarence Reynolds, who also works at the market, said he recently discussed a personal family problem with Speight, and Speight told him "don't let your emotions get the best of you."

Reynolds said Speight was not married and had no children.

Police were alerted to the bloodbath when they found the wounded man on the side of a road. Then sheriff's deputies discovered seven more bodies — three inside the house and four just outside.

When officers converged on the area, the suspected shooter fired at a state police helicopter, rupturing its gas tank and forcing it to land.

The shots revealed his location, and more than 100 police swarmed into the woods until Speight gave up the following morning.

Police said Speight appeared to have had weapons training, but there was no information suggesting he had served in the military.

Speight's uncle, Jack Giglio of Tampa, Fla., told The Associated Press that his nephew was a deer hunter, but as far as he knew Speight did not have any specialized weapons training. Giglio said he had not seen Speight since 2006, when both attended the funeral for Speight's mother.

"We're shocked, of course," Giglio said. "I'm not aware of any problems with him. It's kind of out of the blue. We're still trying to pick up facts, too."

Appomattox County court records show a concealed weapons permit was issued to a Christopher Bryan Speight three times between 1999 and last year.

The shootings were the talk of the lunch counter Wednesday at the local Citgo gas station. But owner Mark Drinkard did not recall ever seeing Speight.

Dakota Henderson, a junior at Appomattox High School, said he had met Speight a few times and had dinner with him, but found nothing odd about the man. "He's an all right guy," Henderson said.

Even after Speight surrendered, the anxiety persisted.

"You feel uneasy whenever you hear anything like that, whether it's in your backyard or 50 miles away," said bank executive Dawn Tolley, lunching at the Granny Bee's Restaurant.

The county's four schools remained closed for the day, the high school flag at half-staff. Administrators planned to bring in grief counselors. The school system posted a notice on its Web site late Wednesday announcing a two-hour delay Thursday morning so staff would have time to "prepare to talk with their students about the tragedy."

Superintendent Dorinda Grasty could not confirm whether any of her students were among the dead but said school officials "anticipate that there will be students from our division that were involved."

Sheriff O. Wilson Staples was out of the county notifying victims' relatives and was unavailable for comment.

Appomattox is known mainly for its history: This community 100 miles southwest of Richmond is where Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to end the Civil War.

"This is a horrific tragedy," state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. "It's definitely one of the worst mass killings in Virginia, probably since the Virginia Tech tragedy."

___
Associated Press writers Larry O'Dell and Zinie Chen Sampson in Appomattox, Tim Huber in Charleston, W.Va., and Harry R. Weber in Atlanta contributed to this report.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/20/virginia.shootings/?hpt=T2

3 teens, 4-year-old among victims in Virginia shootings
January 20, 2010 9:39 p.m. EST

(CNN)  -- Three teenagers and a 4-year-old were among the eight deaths in a Virginia shooting, state police said Wednesday.

Christopher Speight, 39, is being held without bond at the Blue Ridge Regional Jail in Lynchburg, Virginia, after being charged with a single count of first degree murder, police said, adding that further charges are pending.

Speight surrendered peacefully early Wednesday morning after an overnight manhunt left him hiding in the woods surrounded by a several-square-mile perimeter set up by authorities, Appomattox County Sheriff O. Wilson Staples said.

Speight was wearing a bulletproof vest but had no weapons when he surrendered, Staples said.

State police identified the victims of Tuesday's shooting as Ronald I. Scruggs II, 16; Emily A. Quarles, 15; Karen Quarles, 43; Jonathan L. Quarles, 43; Dwayne S. Sipe, 38; Lauralee Sipe, 38; Joshua Sipe, 4; and Morgan L. Dobyns, 15. All were from Appomattox except Scruggs, who was from Dillwyn, about 25 miles away.

Police did not say how the victims were related nor did they describe a motive for the shootings. Earlier, they said that Speight lived at the Appomattox home where seven of the eight were found, that he co-owns it and adjoining land and that he was acquainted with all the victims.

Police were alerted to the incident Tuesday after noon when a person was discovered badly wounded in the middle of Route 703. That person later died at a hospital.

When police arrived at the scene they heard gunshots, authorities said. Authorities established a perimeter around the area, including dogs and helicopters. One of the helicopters was hit at least four times by bullets but "was able to make an emergency landing in a field near the scene," state police said.

A search turned up the remaining seven bodies in and around the home, which is about 75 miles southwest of Richmond, Virginia's capital.

On Wednesday, a search of the home turned up explosive devices, Molinar said. He said authorities were safely detonating the devices but he did not describe them.

[Nut44x4]

Murder Suspect Has Local Ties 
Written by By Sonny Riddle and Paula I. Bryant     
images/stories/012210christopherspeight.jpg

Christopher Bryan Speight, the 39-year-old Appomattox man accused in the Tuesday shooting spree in Appomattox County that left eight victims dead, has close ties to Halifax County.

Assistant Superintendent of Halifax County Public Schools Larry Clark confirmed Thursday that Speight had attended school here in the 1980s.

“He attended the junior high as an eighth-grader and then moved out of state the next few years,” Clark said. “He returned and attended Halifax County Senior High School for one semester.”

HCHS Principal Albert Randolph said, according to school records, Speight was a student at the high school for one semester in school year 1986-87 before transferring to Rustburg High School.

Halifax County Sheriff Stanley Noblin said yesterday he remembered Speight from high school.

“We were the same age, and I remember his face and his name but nothing else,” the sheriff said.

Perhaps Speight’s uncle, Tom Giglio of South Boston, offers the best profile of Christopher Speight.

“My whole perspective on life changed in one night. It’s unbelievable,” Giglio said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon.

Giglio remembers his nephew as “a great little kid who was always funny and laughing.

“Chris had no problems when he lived here as a kid. This all defies logic,” an emotional Giglio said. “Never in my life would I have ever thought something like this could happen.”

Law enforcement officials have charged Speight with one count of first-degree murder involving the deaths of eight individuals, according to Deborah Cox of Virginia State Police Headquarters in Richmond. Additional charges are pending, Cox said.

Two of the victims have been identified as Speight’s sister and brother-in-law, 38-year-old Lauralee Sipe and her 38-year-old husband, Dwayne S. Sipe.

“Chris loved his sister. They were like Mutt and Jeff, “Giglio said describing his niece and nephew’s relationship.

“All of his problems started with the death of his mother who was my sister. When she died, apparently the way it’s looking now, some things went wrong, but we don’t know what. When his mother died, he didn’t cope with that, but that’s all hindsight now.”

Giglio said his nephew has lived away from this area for “a good 20 years,” and although they haven’t had a close relationship, they did stay in contact, “not everyday contact.”

“He was very close to his sister and to Dwayne. That’s what’s so bizarre. They were very close.

“We’re asking ‘WHY.’ That was his family. We just don’t understand. I never got any indication ever that he would ever hurt any person. If anything, I got the reverse indication in that if anyone ever tried to hurt his family, he would protect them,” his uncle said. “We are totally blown out of the water.”

Giglio said family members are planning “a big family meeting” Friday where they “will go over a lot of things. I just don’t understand it at all.”

He further described his nephew as a calm and quiet person.

“He was the kind of person who everyone liked. I don’t know, but something has gone totally wrong. Something must have tripped in his mind,” he continued.

“I’ve lost that entire section of my family. It is gone. There are nine victims because Chris is his own victim,” Giglio said. “I’ve just lost everyone. They’re all gone. It’s like someone threw me on a table and chopped off both of my arms at the same time. It’s unimaginable.”

In addition to losing his neice, Giglio described the loss of her husband, Dwayne, also as “unimaginable.”

“Dwayne was one of the finest people I’ve ever known. He was a wonderful person. I just don’t know how to talk to his mother. It’s terrible,” Giglio said.

“This isn’t Christopher. It’s someone else in him. I don’t want people to say horrible things about Christopher, but this just won’t compute. He was not a bad person.”

Everything began to unfold in the multiple shooting Tuesday around noon when a wounded man was discovered lying in Snapps Mill Road in Appomattox County, state police officials said.

The injured man was airlifted to Lynchburg General Hospital where he later died, officials added.

The Appomattox County deputy who responded to the scene reported hearing shots fired, and additional law enforcement units were dispatched to the Snapps Mill Road location.

When officers arrived, they discovered four bodies outside a nearby house and three additional bodies inside.

As law enforcement units converged upon the suspect, he slipped into a wooded area where he fired a number of shots at a state police helicopter that had been brought in to help with the search, hitting the chopper several times, state police officials said.

Christopher Speight remained confined within the established law enforcement security perimeter the entire time of the search operation, state police officials said. He managed to conceal himself overnight in the wooded area and then turned himself in to SWAT Team members at daybreak, ending the 18-hour standoff.

At the time of surrender Wednesday, Speight was wearing a bulletproof vest and did not have a weapon in his possession, officials said. Speight was cooperative with law enforcement officials and provided useful information, they added.

The Mass Casualty Team with the Office of the State Medical Examiner and special agents with the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation began processing the crime scene in the 3000 block of Snapps Mill Road early Wednesday morning, according to state police officials.

Identifications of the victims were confirmed, and next of kin were notified, officials said. The eight victims were identified as Ronald I “Bo” Scruggs II, 16, of Dillwyn; Emily A. Quarles, 15, of Appomattox; Karen Quarles, 43, of Appomattox; Jonathan L. Quarles, 43, of Appomattox; Dwayne S. Sipe, 38, of Appomattox; Lauralee Sipe, 38, of Appomattox; Joshua Sipe, 4, of Appomattox; and Morgan L. Dobyns, 15, of Appomattox.

All of the victims were transported Wednesday to the state medical examiner’s office in Roanoke in order to determine the cause of death, state police officials said.

Speight was acquainted with the victims, and he had lived at the residence where the murders took place, officials said. He co-owns the residence and owns land adjacent to the residence, they added.

Speight’s uncle said he did not know the other victims.

“I can’t imagine what those families are going through,” Giglio said.

During a press conference Wednesday afternoon, state police Sgt. Thomas Molnar said they found a number of explosive devices at the property and a team of bomb technicians detonated some of them Wednesday and would continue detonating the remaining ones on Thursday to make them safe. Molnar said there was no indication any of the devices exploded on their own.

More than 150 personnel from the Appomattox County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, Campbell County Sheriff’s Office, Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Office, Farmville Police, Lynchburg Police Department, Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, Amherst County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Conservation Police, Virginia National Guard, Holiday Lake State Park Rangers, and ATF were involved in the search and recovery of Speight.

“This is horrific tragedy, definitely one of the worst mass killings in Virginia since the shootings at Virginia Tech in April, 2007” said Virginia State Police Spokeswoman Corrine Geller.
 
http://www.gazettevirginian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=624:murder-suspect-has-local-ties&catid=34:news&Itemid=54

[Nut44x4]

FILE - This May 2005 file photo provided by the Quarles family shows 43-year-old Karen Quarles who along with her husband and daughter were victims of Tuesday's mass shooting in Appomattox, Va. (AP Photo/Quarles family)


FILE - This 2004 file photo provided by the Quarles family shows 15-year-old Emily Quarles who along with her parents were victims of Tuesday's mass shooting in Appomattox, Va. (AP Photo/Quarles family/File)
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/explosives-firearms-found-at-280773.html

Will post more photos as I find them.....
This is horrific!!!!!!!!!

[Nut44x4]

Crime scene


Two hearses arriveto pick up victims at a home where eight people were shot in Appomattox, Va., Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. Officers captured Christopher Speight, who is accused of killing eight people and leading police on an overnight manhunt. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/family-dies-in-crossfire-280773.html

[Nut44x4]

Family dies in crossfire after sleepover drop-off

5:56 p.m. Friday, January 22, 2010
APPOMATTOX, Va. — There was no school the next day, so 15-year-old Emily Quarles had a friend sleep over. As she and her mother took the friend home the next morning, they became targets for a rampaging gunman. When Emily's father and boyfriend went looking for them, they were slain too.

Police say Emily and her parents, Jonathan and Karen Quarles, and her boyfriend, 16-year-old Ronnie "Bo" Scruggs, were among eight people killed early Tuesday by 39-year-old Christopher Speight. He's accused of firing on a police helicopter and hiding in the woods before surrendering nearly a day later. Speight is the uncle of Morgan Dobyns, the friend the Quarles were dropping off, who was also killed.

An inventory obtained Friday of the items found through search warrants showed that investigators seized 42 homemade explosive devices and fuses, multiple rounds of ammunition, several assault rifles and a 9 mm pistol from the Appomattox home Speight shared with his sister, brother-in-law and their two children. The four were among Tuesday's victims.

Speight is being held without bond on a single murder charge and told a judge at a brief court appearance Friday that he has enough money to get his own lawyer. More charges are expected.

Police have not provided a timeline for the killings, which happened at the home Speight shared with his sister and her family. Melissa Stallard, Jonathan Quarles' sister, gave the following outline to the Richmond Times-Dispatch based on information police gave her:

— Karen Quarles and Dobyns, 15, were found dead on the porch and Emily Quarles was found dead in the car. It wasn't clear why she was not on the porch with the other two.

— Jonathan Quarles got worried when Karen and Emily didn't return, so he and Scruggs, who had been dropped off to hang out with Emily, went looking for them. Stallard said officials told her they would have seen Karen and Morgan's bodies on the porch when they arrived. Scruggs got out of the car and was shot beside it. Jonathan Quarles tried to run but was also shot. A sheriff's deputy found him wounded in the torso and barely alive. He died at the hospital.

— The other three people killed were Speight's sister, Lauralee Sipe, and her husband and 4-year-old son. Dobyns was her daughter from a previous marriage. Police have said three bodies were found in the house, though they have not confirmed those bodies were the Sipes.

Police have not released a motive, though friends say Speight may have thought Lauralee Sipe was trying to kick him out of the house. Deputies who arrived after the killings found one explosive booby trap, according to search warrants released Friday.

Relatives and people who knew Speight say he had a history of mental breakdowns and may have become fixated on the notion that his sister wanted to oust him from the house passed down to them by their grandparents and mother. The family lawyer, however, said her intention wasthe opposite: She planned to deed the property solely to him.

Speight said nothing at the court hearing Friday morning, and an arraignment has not been scheduled.

Speight had struggled since his mother died from brain cancer in 2006, said uncle Thomas Giglio. Speight's father left some 30 years ago, and he and his mother were very close.

"He didn't take it good at all," Giglio said. "I don't think he ever reconciled it."

Lynchburg attorney Harry Devening, who handled legal matters for the family, said Speight had an apparent learning disability and history of mental problems, and "ran away" from his sister's Georgia home for several days during a breakdown in 2007, about a year after his mother died.

Even then the family had no reason to suspect Speight might turn violent.

Devening said Lauralee Sipe perceived no problems either, signing a deed late last week to put the family property in Speight's name. She planned to record it at the courthouse immediately, he said, but both Friday and Monday were state holidays.

The lawyer cautioned her that she was giving up her half of the property.

"She said he was fine, he was normal, and she wasn't concerned about it," Devening said. As for her share, "it was never of any consequence to her. She was very happy with the arrangement."

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/family-dies-in-crossfire-280773.html

[Nut44x4]

Let me get this straight.....

If I can't have the house no one will? I'll just kill everybody.

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Autopsy: Speight allegedly shot victims multiple times
By STEPHANIE A. JAMES/Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 7, 2010 10:17 AM EDT
 
Recently released autopsy reports indicate that most of the victims who died as a result of the shooting rampage in January suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Six of the eight victims were shot multiple times, according to the autopsy reports filed with the Appomattox County Circuit Court in June.

Christopher Bryan Speight, 40, faces capital murder charges for his alleged role in the deaths of eight people.

Speight is accused of fatally shooting his sister Lauralee Sipe, his brother-in-law Dwayne Sipe, his nephew Joshua Sipe and his niece Morgan Dobyns, who all shared a residence with Speight on Snapps Mill Road in Appomattox County.

The other four victims of the shooting were Jonathan and Karen Quarles, Emily Quarles and Ronald "Bo" Scruggs.

Autopsy reports from the medical examiners office in Roanoke revealed that at least one of the victims was shot with both a handgun and a rifle.

 
 

The reports also indicate that the shots were fired at close range and distant range.

According to the autopsy reports, Lauralee Sipe, 37, suffered 11 gunshot wounds. Law enforcement officials discovered Sipe dead in the living room of the Snapps Mill Road residence she shared with Speight.

Blood found on the camouflage pants that Speight wore during his January 20 arrest matched his sister's, according to a May report from the Western Laboratory in Roanoke.

Sipe's husband 38-year-old Dwayne Sipe, who was also found in the living room, suffered nine gunshot wounds.

The Sipes' 4 year-old son Joshua Sipe, who suffered four gunshot wounds, was found at the top of the second floor stairs of the home.

Jonathan Quarles, 43, suffered four gunshot wounds and was found alive in the road in front of Speight's home. He later died.

Karen Quarles, 43, suffered three gunshot wounds and was found on the porch of the home.

Fifteen year-old Morgan Dobyns was also discovered on the porch of the home and suffered two gunshot wounds.

Both Emily Quarles and Ronald Scruggs suffered a single gunshot wound.

Scruggs was found on the ground of the driveway at the residence while Quarles was discovered inside a parked vehicle in the driveway.

At least half of the victims suffered fatal wounds to the back or the head, according to the autopsy reports.

Around noon on January 19, law enforcement officials were alerted to the shooting victims after a passerby discovered one of the victims laying in the middle of the road.

A manhunt for Speight was initiated as Speight concealed himself before surrendering the morning of January 20.

During a pursuit for Speight, Speight allegedly shot at a Virginia State Police helicopter forcing the pilot, Sgt. Don Childs, into an emergency landing.

When Speight surrendered to law enforcement officials 18 hours later, he confessed to an investigator that he shot all eight people.

In April, Speight was indicted on nine charges, including three capital murder charges, attempted murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felon, and discharging a firearm in an occupied structure.

Currently, Speight is at Central State Hospital in Petersburg for treatment to have his competency restored after it was determined two weeks ago that he was currently incompetent to stand trial.

It was determined that Speight was incompetent and unable to help his two attorneys so that they can craft a defense strategy.

Detailed in a motion for competency filed by Speight's attorney, Neil Horn, he described Speight's behavior.

In early May, the defense mitigation investigator David Williams visited Speight at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center and noticed that Speight had a "gaunt appearance, he had obvious weight loss, full body trembling and an overall agitated and fearful demeanor," wrote Horn in the motion.

Horn further wrote that Speight "detailed how he was being tortured by other entities that were battling over him and he demanded the torture to stop. The speech was rapid and he was not focused. He went into detail about hallucinations. He described being "zapped" causing pain and burning sensations throughout his body. In order to harm him the entities used computers and artificial intelligence."

The court filing also states that Speight switched from first person to third person and "appeared to have exchanges with other entities and at times did not seem to be aware of Williams' presence. His speech was laced with profanity, something (Speight) had rarely done in any prior meeting."

Speight also appeared to not know why Williams was meeting with him.

Horn informed the court that due to Speight's behavior he could not rationally discuss the case with him as a result Horn filed a competency motion so that Speight can be evaluated for competency.

During a competency motion hearing in May, Commonwealth's Attorney Darrel Puckett argued that the prosecution did not contend that Speight is incompetent.

However, Judge Richard Blanton ruled that Speight be evaluated for competency.

Last month when the results of the competency evaluation came back, Judge Richard Blanton ordered that Speight be treated at a state mental hospital.
http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2010/07/08/appomattox/news/news30.txt

[MuffyBee]

http://www2.newsvirginian.com/news/2010/aug/03/accused-appomattox-shooters-attorneys-seek-lynchbu-ar-411252/
Accused Appomattox shooter's attorneys seek Lynchburg jail recordings
August 3, 2010

APPOMATTOX, Va. --

Lawyers for a Spout Spring man charged with capital murder in the slayings of eight people hope to get a court order Monday for recordings made of him at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center.The defense lawyers have asked for the surveillance recordings as possible evidence to support claims that he is insane and to be used as mitigation if he is convicted.

Christopher Speight, 41, was arrested Jan. 20 after an overnight standoff with police officers and deputies at the 3030 Snapps Mill Road home he shared with his sister and her family. Speight was indicted in April on three counts of capital murder, one count of attempted capital murder of a police officers, four counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony and one count of shooting in an occupied dwelling.

The murder charges include Speight's sister, her husband and daughter, three neighbors and a teenage boy. He is also accused of shooting down a Virginia State Police helicopter during the Jan. 19 massacre. According to a search warrant affidavit filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court in February, Speight confessed to the slayings when he was arrested.

Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Les Fleet said Tuesday that he believes the hearing will only take a few minutes. Fleet said he expects Appomattox Circuit Judge Richard Blanton to sign off on a subpoena requesting the records from the jail and to sign another order granting the defense lawyers access to prosecution evidence.

"I do not anticipate (Speight) being there. He is still at Central State," Fleet said, referring to the hospital Blanton ordered Speight to be sent to in June after a psychologist evaluated him and found him incompetent to stand trial.

To meet the legal standard of competency, Speight must be sane enough to understand the court proceedings and to help his lawyers prepare his case.

In letters to the court, defense lawyer Neil Horn wrote that Speight has delusions he is being tortured, hallucinates and is unable to communicate with him about the case.

In a June 29 letter to Blanton requesting action on the items expected to be resolved in Monday's hearing, Horn wrote, "I must note that my conversations with (forensic psychologist Evan) Nelson gave me the impression that the defendant's treatment to restore his competency will take months."

Although he was out of the office Tuesday, Appomattox Commonwealth's Attorney Darrel Puckett said in an earlier interview that he expects Speight's competency to be restored by the end of the year.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2010/08/12/appomattox/news/news31.txt
Speight's lawyers to get video, audio of jail stay
August 11, 2010

An Appomattox County judge on Monday granted a request to allow jail records to be seized to assist the defense of accused murderer Christopher Bryan Speight.

Speight's lawyers requested the records in front of Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Blanton to obtain jail records from the Lynchburg Detention Center that would indicate evidence of mental illness or disorder of their client

During a motion hearing on Monday, there were four motions granted involving the release of evidence.

Neil Horn, one of Speight's attorneys, said that the defense is looking to obtain any evidence such as medical records, recordings and survelliance from the time he entered jail in January until June.

Speight, who faces capital murder charges, is currently at Petersburg-based Central State Hospital and is being treated to have his competency restored.

On June 24, Speight was declared incompetent to stand trial shortly after he had his competency evaluated.

Medical personnel are to make the court aware of Speight's condition if they believe that his competency has been restored.

Commonwealth Attorney Darrel Puckett said that the court does not expect to hear back about Speight's condition until December, which would be a total of six months from the time that he entered in Central State.

In May, Speight's attorneys filed a motion to have his competency evaluated after he told the defense mitigation investigator that he was having hallucinations and he displayed an inability to help his attorneys with the case.

The filing came one month after Speight was indicted on charges of capital murder, attempted murder, use of a firearm in commission of a felon, and use of a firearm for his alleged role in the shooting deaths of eight people.

The shootings occurred January 19 at Speight's Snapps Mill Road residence that he shared with his 37-year-old sister, Lauralee Sipe, her husband, Dwayne, 38, and Speight's 15-year-old niece Morgan Dobyns and his nephew Joshua Sipe, 4.

All were gunned down, along with other victims 43-year-old Karen and Jonathan Quarles, their daughter, Emily Quarles, 15 and Bo Scruggs, 16.

Speight confessed to fatally shooting all eight people during an interview with an investigator after his arrest on January 20.

On January 19, law enforcement officials arrived at Speight's residence after receiving a 911 call about a wounded man lying in the middle of the road in front of Speight's residence.

Three of the victims were found dead inside of the home while the four others were found outside of the residence.

Speight was deemed a suspect and a manhunt ensued as he concealed himself on his property.

During a pursuit of Speight, he allegedly shot at and hit a Virginia State Police helicopter several times forcing Sgt. Don Childs into an emergency landing.

Speight eventually surrendered 18 hours later.

Law enforcement officials have not commented on a possible motive.

[MuffyBee]

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-story-achs-memorial-garden-081910,0,2530772.story
(with video)
Memorial Garden Honors Slain Students
Appomattox Co. High School built a garden in honor of slain students
August 19, 2010

APPOMATTOX, Va. —
Appomattox County high schoolers Ronald "Bo" Scruggs, Emily Quarles and Morgan Dobyns and five others were shot and killed in January.

Christopher Speight, 41, was charged with capital murder in the case but has not gone to trial.

The murders rocked Appomattox County High School.

Bo, Emily and Morgan would have been entering their senior, junior and sophomores years, respectively, at Appomoattox County High School on Monday.

Their murder last January prompted other students to design a Memorial in their memory.

"They were kids. I mean, why did that happen to them? That shouldn't have happened to them," said senior Jonathan McFadden, a classmate of Scruggs.

"People still talk about them, and they'll talk about them forever. But it was painful to see everyone greiving and crying over it," remembered Kelsey McKinney, who graduated from ACHS in May.

Months later that grief turned into action with the creation of a Memorial Garden at the high school.

The garden has new landscaping, a fountain, and bricks lining the walk-way, which include the 28 names of students and teachers from Appomattox County High School who have been killed over the school's 36 year history.
(snip)