Christopher Speight

Case overview

Christopher Speight was the suspect in the Appomattox shootings, a spree shooting in Appomattox, Virginia on January 19, 2010.

The offence

The incident began when police were called to a road outside Appomattox on a report of a man who required medical attention. When police arrived, they were fired on by Speight. He also fired on a police helicopter, forcing it to make an emergency landing.

Speight fled to a wooded area, where a force of more than a hundred police officers surrounded him. Eight civilians were killed: three in a house co-owned by the gunman, four outside the house, and the last on the road. Police said the victims were both men and women and all were previously acquainted with Speight. Speight was believed to have acted alone, and no motive was known.

Speight surrendered on January 20 in the same wooded area where he had been surrounded. He was wearing a bulletproof vest, but without the high-powered rifle believed to be the weapon used.

Police later expressed concern that Speight’s house had been rigged with explosives. A bomb squad searched the building the morning of the day after the attack, found explosives both inside and around the building, and detonated them safely.

Speight was employed as a security guard for Old Dominion Security.

Victims

Police identified eight victims:

• Lauralee Sipe, 38 (Speight’s sister)
• Dwayne Sipe, 38 (her husband)
• Morgan Dobyns, 15 (their daughter)
• Joshua Sipe, 4 (their son)
• Jonathan Quarles, 43
• Karen Quarles, 43 (his wife)
• Emily Quarles, 15 (their daughter)
• Ronald “Bo” Scruggs, 16 (Emily Quarles’s boyfriend)

Investigation and police response

Police put a school and local businesses on lockdown and advised residents to lock their houses and not go outside.

An overnight standoff with deputies took place before Speight was arrested. Authorities stated Speight was arrested on January 20 after an overnight standoff with deputies at 3030 Snapps Mill Road, the home he shared with his sister and her family.

Authorities also said Speight shot a Virginia State Police helicopter flying over the scene. A 20-hour standoff ended when Speight, unarmed and wearing a bulletproof vest, emerged from hiding in a thick wooded patch near his farm.

After the shootings, the county’s four schools were closed Wednesday, with classes set to resume Thursday.

A bomb squad was called to search in and around Speight’s house, fearing it might be rigged with explosives. Officers were heard detonating explosives found at the house.

“Based on my experience as a trial attorney and specifically as a criminal defense attorney, I am unable at this time to rationally communicate with Mr. Speight regarding his capital murder charges and the other related felony charges,” wrote defense lawyer Neil Horn.

Arrest and surrender

Speight surrendered on January 20 in the same wooded area where he had been surrounded, wearing a bulletproof vest and emerging without the high-powered rifle believed to be used.

Co-workers said Speight had appeared sullen and on edge when he showed up for his job as a security guard at a small grocery store.

Confession

Speight confessed to the slayings the day after the shootings, according to a search warrant filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court in February.

Charges and indictment

Speight was indicted in April. He was charged with:

• three counts of capital murder
• one count of attempted capital murder of a police officer
• four counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony
• one count of shooting in an occupied dwelling

The murder counts covered all eight victims: Speight’s sister Lauralee Sipe; her husband Dwayne Sipe; their daughter Morgan Dobyns; their son Joshua Sipe; and friends Jonathan Quarles, his wife Karen Quarles, their daughter Emily Quarles, and her boyfriend Ronald “Bo” Scruggs.

For trial purposes, competency generally required Speight to be able to understand the proceedings against him and to be able to help his lawyers prepare his case.

Trial competency evaluation and legal proceedings

On June 24, 2010, Appomattox County Circuit Court Judge Richard Blanton signed an order declaring Speight incompetent to stand trial.

Judge Blanton ordered Speight be sent to a state psychiatric hospital “in an effort to restore him to competency,” specifically Central State Hospital in Petersburg, a state-operated mental health institution.

The order provided that:

• If staff believed Speight was competent to stand trial, they would report this to the court immediately.
• If staff believed at any time he was likely to remain incompetent “for the foreseeable future,” or if competency had not been restored within six months, the staff would report suggesting whether he should be released or committed for a longer time.

A defense lawyer’s request for a mental health evaluation described Speight’s demeanor and statements. In Speight’s May request, defense lawyer Neil Horn wrote that Speight had appeared gaunt, trembling, and had an “overall agitated and fearful demeanor.” Horn wrote that a defense investigator reported that during a visit at the Lynchburg Adult Detention Center Speight told him:

“being tortured by other entities that were battling over him and he demanded the torture stop.”

Horn also wrote that Speight had described having hallucinations.

In another sworn statement filed by Horn later in May, Horn wrote that Speight was still having delusions of being tortured and told him:

“the bear sends his regards and says it’s a go.”

Horn wrote that during a May 25 visit he could only focus for a few seconds before:

“beginning detailed delusional statements and narratives.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Darrel Puckett said Blanton’s ruling was not unexpected and that, because the charges carried the possibility of execution, Speight should be treated if there was any doubt about competency. Puckett said there was a difference in legal competency needed for Speight to stand trial and outright insanity. Puckett said:

“From the Commonwealth’s standpoint, I do not and will not concede incompetence or insanity,”

and that he expected to continue the prosecution within six months. Puckett said he expected to see a preliminary report within the next two months and that Speight’s competency would be restored before the six-month period expired.

Other details

Background and related personal context

Co-workers said Speight had seemed sullen and on edge since his mother died of cancer in 2006. They said he had been increasingly angry with family members who he believed were trying to steal the farmhouse his mother had bequeathed to him.

Tonya Maddox, a cashier at the Sunshine Market grocery store in Lynchburg, said:

“On Saturday, he was here, and he wouldn’t come inside. He wouldn’t talk to anybody,”

and the co-workers joked he was going to shoot someone.

David Anderson, co-owner of the Sunshine Market grocery store in Lynchburg, said:

“I thought he was going to wear a trench in it.”

Authorities said all victims were previously acquainted with Speight.

Authorities and neighbours described aspects of Speight’s life and temperament before the killings. Speight was described as a devout Jehovah’s Witness.

Location details and scene description

The overnight standoff involved deputies at 3030 Snapps Mill Road, the home Speight shared with his sister and her family.

The brown colonial-style house was where most of the bodies were found. The only sign of violence noted at the house was yellow crime-scene tape stretched across a neatly landscaped front yard and evidence flags in nearby woods. A child’s bike and a portable basketball hoop lay near the front door.

A neighbor, Tammy Randolph, described finding bodies on the road while driving with her mother and her 6-month-old son. Randolph said:

“I knew something was really strange,”

and that after finding the first body, she tried to run to Speight’s house but turned back when she came across a second bloodied body in the road. Randolph also said:

“We’re glad there were not more casualties.”

Roger Harris, 36, a mechanic and farmer who worked on the property adjacent to Speight, said he was accustomed to hearing guns and that Speight often liked to engage in target practice at night. Harris said he was stunned when dozens of police cars and a police helicopter arrived. Harris said:

“That’s where he was shooting. He knew what he was doing.”

Harris said he watched as four shots hit the helicopter, which made an emergency landing in his field.

Statements from acquaintances and community response

Monte W. Mays said Speight was cordial and friendly and that they waved as they passed on the road and sent their dogs to play together. Mays said:

“The only one who’s going to know now is Chris,”

and also said Speight had long been a gun enthusiast and enjoyed target shooting on his property.

Clarence Reynolds said he had recently discussed a personal family problem with Speight and that Speight told him:

“don’t let you emotions get the best of you.”

Dakota Henderson, a junior at Appomattox High School, said he knew the teenage victims and described Speight:

“He’s an all right guy,”

and:

“You wouldn’t think he would do something like this.”

Class schedule changes occurred: the county’s four schools were closed Wednesday, and Appomattox County Public Schools delayed classes by two hours so staff could prepare to talk with students about the tragedy. Counselors were also scheduled to be on hand.

Compassion was offered at an impromptu prayer gathering attended by about 100 people late Wednesday at Thomas Terrace Baptist Church in Lynchburg.

Courtney Crews, 14, said:

“She was just a really good friend,”

and also:

“She was never mean to anybody.”

Gabrielle Akoester, 13, said she knew Emily Quarles and Scruggs and that the girls roller-skated at the same rink every weekend. Akoester said:

“I’m going to keep praying for comfort and all,”

and:

“and I will get through this.”