Mark Hilbun

Overview

Mark Hilbun was a former postal worker who fatally stabbed his mother, Frances, and slit the throat of her cocker spaniel, Golden. He then went to a post office and opened fire, killing a letter carrier and wounding postal staff and other people during a two-day rampage. He was dismissed for stalking a female employee, and he was later sentenced to life in prison on November 16, 1996.

Background

Hilbun worked as a postal employee at the Dana Point post office until he was dismissed for stalking a co-worker in December (the dismissal was described as occurring in December in one account). A later account stated that he had been fired in December in part for stalking a female employee. Police said he went to the post office on the day in question to kidnap her, and she was not hurt in the shooting.

Hilbun was described as having a history of emotional problems, and he was described as being diagnosed as a manic-depressive. During court proceedings, Deputy Public Defender David Biggs argued that Hilbun was mentally unstable and discussed an intentional fall from a second-story walkway in Orange County Jail.

At the time of a competency hearing being addressed, Hilbun was 39 years old and a Dana Point man, and his attorney was Deputy Public Defender David Biggs. The deputy district attorney prosecuting the case was Richard King, and Municipal Court Judge Pamela L. Iles was involved in scheduling a competency hearing.

The offence

In May 1993, Hilbun killed his mother, Frances, by stabbing her to death in her Corona del Mar home. He also slit the throat of her cocker spaniel, Golden. Later, he said that it was her Mother’s Day present.

After the killing, Hilbun went to the Dana Point, California post office and opened fire. He fatally shot Charles Barbagallo, a letter carrier, and injured Peter Gates, a postal clerk. He then left the post office and continued his shooting spree, wounding multiple people including Patricia Salot, John Kersey and Elizabeth Shea before being captured.

A separate account described Hilbun’s actions as a two-day rampage in March that left his mother and a former co-worker dead. That same account stated that the indictment also accused Hilbun of attempting to kill seven other people. In that account, prosecutors alleged that Hilbun killed his mother, Frances, in her Newport Beach home and shot two postal workers, one fatally, while attempting to kidnap Kimberly Springer at the post office where he once worked. The account stated that Hilbun was infatuated with Springer, who worked with Hilbun until he was fired in December.

The accounts also stated that Hilbun had robbed and shot two people at an automated teller machine in nearby Fountain Valley, and that those victims were Jim Brown (44) and Elizabeth Shea (28). The victims were described as not seriously injured and as telling police that a man matching Hilbun’s description demanded Brown’s wallet and shot them just after midnight. The account also stated that the Orange County sheriff’s department believed this occurred before Hilbun’s arrest.

Investigation

Police received a call about Hilbun drinking at a bar, and officers later arrested him while he was watching television in a Huntington Beach sports bar.

Lieut. Charles Poe of the Huntington Beach police department and Lieut. Bob Rivas of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department were quoted in connection with the arrest and the suspicion about the prior stalking and other attacks. Frank McNaughton, the general manager of the bar, was quoted about officers making the arrest.

Arrest

Hilbun was arrested peacefully while watching television in a Huntington Beach sports bar shortly after midnight May 8. He was captured in Huntington Beach, about 20 miles northwest of Dana Point.

Frank McNaughton, general manager of the bar, said: “They didn't even approach this guy with their guns drawn,”

and: “They asked him to step outside. He was real complacent.”

Hilbun was identified as Mark R. Hilbun in the arrest account. A customer recognized Hilbun and a friend of the customer called the police.

Lieut. Charles Poe said that earlier Hilbun had a mustache, was clean shaven later, and had his hair cut.

Trial

A Municipal Court judge temporarily suspended murder charges against fired postal worker Mark Hilbun and ordered a hearing to determine if he was mentally competent to stand trial. The hearing was scheduled in Superior Court.

On July 7, 1993, Municipal Court Judge Pamela L. Iles temporarily suspended the murder charges and ordered a competency hearing to determine if Hilbun was mentally competent to assist with his defense. Deputy Public Defender David Biggs stated that at least two experts would testify about Hilbun’s inability to stand trial. Biggs argued that Hilbun was mentally unstable, as indicated by an “intentional” fall from a second-story walkway in Orange County Jail.

In court, Hilbun looked haggard and disoriented as he walked with apparent discomfort around a wired jail cell. His hair was disheveled and his previously clean-shaven face sported a full beard.

Deputy Public Defender David Biggs said: “Someone leaping from a second floor . . . and didn't break the fall with his hands but instead landed on his head . . . indicates to me that that individual is not mentally competent,”

and: “He didn't slip; he did that intentionally.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard King declined to comment on Hilbun’s mental condition, saying: “Under the law, he is presumed competent.”

Biggs also said he was considering an insanity defense, while emphasizing that the competency hearing was only to determine if the defendant was fit to stand trial and did not address the sanity issue.

The account stated that if a judge concluded Hilbun was mentally incompetent, he would probably be sent to a state facility pending results of future competency hearings. If Hilbun was determined mentally competent, he would return to court for a preliminary hearing.

Sentencing

Hilbun was sentenced to life in prison on November 16, 1996.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Timeline

• May 6, 1993 — Hilbun killed his mother, Frances, and slit the throat of her cocker spaniel, Golden; he later went to the Dana Point post office and fatally shot Charles Barbagallo and injured Peter Gates.
• May 8, 1993 — Hilbun was arrested peacefully while watching television in a Huntington Beach sports bar shortly after midnight.
• July 7, 1993 — A Municipal Court judge temporarily suspended murder charges and ordered a hearing to determine Hilbun’s mental competency to stand trial.
• November 16, 1996 — Hilbun was sentenced to life in prison.

Other details

A competency-related incident was described: Hilbun broke a vertebra and suffered a concussion in a June 21 incident while out of his cell for his daily recreational break. He stayed at a hospital for two weeks and then returned to jail Friday, with daily monitoring by medical staff.

An account described Hilbun as wearing a T-shirt with “Psycho” on it. Another account described him as being charged with murdering his mother and a former co-worker during a two-day rampage in May and that five other people were wounded in the incident plus additional attacks. The indictment account stated charges included two counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder, and one count each of robbery, attempted kidnaping, burglary, and killing his mother’s dog.

Residents picked up their mail at the post office after the post office reopened on Friday with 12 armed guards, and about half of the 65 employees scheduled to work stayed home. Carriers returned to their routes that day.

The indictment account stated that the indictment by the Orange County Grand Jury was handed up Thursday but was not made public until Friday, and that it cancelled a Jan. 22 preliminary hearing on charges filed earlier involving the same incidents.

The indictment account stated that Hilbun was indicted in the deaths of his mother and a former co-worker, and that he was to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court on two counts of murder and other specified counts.