Scott Harlan Thorpe

Case information

Scott Harlan Thorpe, 40, opened fire at Nevada County's mental health office in Nevada City and then shot at a Lyons restaurant near Grass Valley.

Timeline

• 11 January 2001 — Thorpe was accused of opening fire at Nevada County's mental health office at about 11:30 a.m. and then shooting at a Lyons restaurant less than two miles away. He was arrested at about 9 p.m. at his Smartville home after police received a tip from Thorpe's brother.
• 6 February 2001 — Three psychiatrists were to help decide the mental competency of Thorpe, who was charged with killing three people in a Nevada County shooting spree.
• 15 November 2002 — Thorpe entered an expanded plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to charges he killed three people and wounded two others in a shooting rampage on 10 January 2001.
• April 7, 2001 — Psychiatric reports describing Thorpe’s mental disorder were unsealed by the court.

The offence

Thorpe opened fire at Nevada County's mental health office at about 11:30. He killed three people at the outpatient mental health clinic and wounded two others.

At the county social services building / outpatient mental health clinic in Nevada City, Thorpe shot:

• Laura Wilcox, 19, a receptionist, who died.
• Pearlie Mae Feldman, 68, a caregiver, who died.
• A fourth person who injured her leg by jumping from a window to escape.

The sheriff identified:

• Judith Edzards, 49, as the woman wounded at the county building; she was in critical condition at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
• Daisy Switzer, as the county worker hurt jumping out of the county health building; she recovered from a broken leg.

About 10 minutes later, Thorpe went to a Lyon's restaurant less than two miles away near Grass Valley (about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento, California) and opened fire. At the restaurant, he:

• Fatally shot the manager.
• Wounded a cook.

The restaurant manager and cook who were identified as victims were:

• Mike Markle, 24, restaurant manager, who died.
• Richard Senuty, 34, restaurant cook, who was wounded and was in good condition at the Sierra Nevada Hospital in Grass Valley.

A sheriff said Thorpe believed the restaurant was poisoning him.

Authorities said Thorpe accused the restaurant of trying to poison him, and that authorities believed Thorpe was unhappy with the mental health care he received at the county clinic and feared he was being poisoned at the restaurant.

Investigation

Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal identified Thorpe’s victims and described the shootings.

The sheriff’s office identified the victims as:

• At the HEW building: Laura Wilcox (19) and Pearlie Mae Feldman (68).
• At the Lyons restaurant: Mike Markle (24).

A district attorney said a gun was found at Thorpe's house.

Investigators said they had not discovered any links between Thorpe and any of his victims.

Arrest and surrender

Thorpe was arrested at about 9 p.m. at his Smartville home, about 15 miles from the site of the first shooting. Police received a tip from Thorpe’s brother, and authorities said Thorpe surrendered peacefully.

Thorpe’s brother was Kent Thorpe, who was a police officer in Sacramento and who turned Thorpe in.

Trial and mental competency

Thorpe was found incompetent to stand trial and was sent to Atascadero State Hospital, later transferred to California's Napa State Hospital.

On 6 February 2001, three psychiatrists were set to help decide Thorpe’s mental competency.

In psychiatric reports unsealed by the court on Thursday (April 7, 2001), Thorpe made statements to a court-appointed doctor, including:

"I ended three people's life," Scott Harlan Thorpe told one court-appointed doctor, who asked him about the Jan. 10 shooting rampage in Nevada County.
"It's not like I tried to get away," he said.
"I didn't disguise myself; there are a lot of eyewitnesses (and) they have my gun which matches the bullets."

A Nevada County Superior Court judge ruled Thorpe was competent to stand trial after being treated for more than a year in two state institutions for the criminally insane. Judge Carl Bryan ordered the trial to start March 25.

Later, several psychiatrists found Thorpe was still incompetent to stand trial.

Plea

On Thursday, 15 November 2002, Thorpe entered an expanded plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to charges he killed three people and wounded two others in a shooting rampage on Jan. 10, 2001.

Sentencing

No sentencing outcome was provided.

Outcome

Thorpe was found incompetent to stand trial and was sent to Atascadero State Hospital and was later transferred to California's Napa State Hospital.

People connected to the case

Victims

• Laura Wilcox, 19 — receptionist; killed at the outpatient mental health clinic.
• Pearlie Mae Feldman, 68 — caregiver; killed at the outpatient mental health clinic.
• Mike Markle, 24 — restaurant manager at Lyon's Restaurant; killed.

Injured victims

• Judith Edzards, 49 — county employee; wounded; in critical condition at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
• Richard Senuty, 34 — restaurant cook; wounded; in good condition at the Sierra Nevada Hospital in Grass Valley.
• Daisy Switzer — county worker; recovered from a broken leg after jumping out of the county health building to escape.

Family and associates

• Kent Thorpe — Thorpe’s brother; a police officer in Sacramento; turned Thorpe in.
• Marilyn Thorpe — Thorpe’s mother; said Thorpe had depression, anxiety and agoraphobia and that his mental illness emerged seven to eight years earlier.
• Elizabeth Martin — county board Chairwoman; said:

  "It is a dark day for our county," county board Chairwoman Elizabeth Martin told reporters.
  "I'm here to express our deep grief and horror at this loss to our community and offer our condolences to the families."

• Ted Langdell — friend of Markle; said he last saw Markle at the Yuba City Lyon's on Christmas, and said:

  "He was busy cooking, waiting tables and basically being a jack-of-all-trades so others could go home on Christmas,"

• Gary Dalbey — neighbor of Thorpe; said Thorpe feared being in public and stopped shopping a year ago, and that Thorpe “must have snapped,” and also said:

  "He always spoke good of (the Behavioral Health Department). They were helping him," Dalbey said at his home.
  "I just hope they can get him a mental commitment instead of spending millions of dollars on a trial."

• Doug Vickery — neighbor; said Thorpe was quiet and they had rarely spoken since Thorpe moved onto the property.
• Christine York — owner of the Driftwood Inn; said Thorpe drank a beer at her inn last Friday and said:

  "I didn't make the connection until I saw a report," York said.
  "He was a very nice gentleman."

• Jon Byerrum — Grass Valley School District Superintendent; said Thorpe was a nighttime janitor at Lyman Gilmore and Scotten schools from 1988 to 1992 and that DOJ background check showed no ill circumstances.

Other named officials mentioned in relation to procedure or competency

• Carl Bryan — Nevada County Superior Court judge who ruled Thorpe was competent to stand trial after treatment; ordered the trial to start March 25.
• Keith Royal — Nevada County Sheriff.
• Elizabeth Martin — county board Chairwoman.
• Gray Davis — referenced in relation to other mental health law content included in the material.

Other details

Thorpe was described as a 40-year-old man from Smartville who was unemployed at the time of the arrest and was in the Nevada County jail facing charges that included three counts of murder. He was scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Prosecutors said Thorpe could face the death penalty if he was convicted. Thorpe had no previous criminal record and made no statements to police. Investigators said they had not discovered links between Thorpe and any of his victims.

Thorpe’s neighbors described him as reclusive and said he cared for sick animals at his rural home. One neighbor said Thorpe took care of neighbors’ sick pigs and wanted to raise goats to make cheese, and that he raised chickens. Another neighbor said Thorpe was extremely gentle.

Thorpe’s background included agoraphobia and mental health counselling, and authorities stated he was undergoing monthly mental health counseling for agoraphobia.

From 1988 to 1992, Thorpe was a nighttime janitor at Lyman Gilmore and Scotten schools. His tenure ended the same year he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Nevada County, described as his only known run-in with the law, and he resigned the same year he bought the 9 mm Ruger handgun allegedly involved.

Thorpe had a work-related injury that resulted in disability pay, and he was described as receiving disability pay for back injury.

Thorpe was born in Sacramento on April 1, 1960.

The material also included discussion of “Laura's Law” in relation to Laura Wilcox, including that it was named in memory of Laura Wilcox and described rules for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment; it stated that as of 2010 Nevada County had fully implemented the law and Los Angeles County had a pilot project.