Andrew Wurst

Background

Andrew Wurst was born in 1983. He was 14-years old when he shot a teacher and wounded other students at Parker Middle School in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, United States, during an 8th grade graduation dance.

A month before the killing, Wurst told classmates he wanted to kill people and commit suicide. Another classmate noticed that Wurst was becoming curt and unfriendly in the weeks before the shooting.

The offence

On April 24, 1998, Wurst shot and killed John Gillette, a teacher, at Parker Middle School during an 8th grade graduation dance. The shooting took place at Nick's Place, a nearby restaurant, during the dance.

The shooting began on an outdoor patio. Wurst then proceeded to enter Nick's Place after running out of ammunition. He subsequently fired more shots, hitting a teacher and two students.

John Gillette was killed when Wurst opened fire at the dance. In addition to the killing, Wurst wounded two students. One student, Adam Sarren, was grazed across the abdomen, and another student was shot in the foot; both were treated at a hospital and released.

A female teacher was grazed by a bullet but did not need medical treatment.

Police said Wurst had a handgun and a small amount of marijuana in his possession.

Capturing Wurst was prevented further loss of life. The owner of Nick's Place intervened and held Wurst at gunpoint with a shotgun for 11 minutes until police arrived.

Wurst held a gun to the principal's head.

Students were dancing to “My Heart Will Go On” from the film Titanic when the first of several shots rang out.

Adam Sarren, 15, said:

“It was pretty horrible. It was like a nightmare,”
“We were all scared and crying and praying.”

Investigation

Police said the shooting involved a handgun and that Wurst had a small amount of marijuana in his possession when he was caught.

Arrest

Wurst was captured at gunpoint. The owner of the banquet hall caught him in a field behind the hall just after the shooting while carrying a shotgun.

Trial

Wurst was charged as an adult. The charges included criminal homicide and three counts each of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, as well as drug and gun charges.

Wurst had been scheduled to go to trial on October 25 as an adult on a first-degree murder charge.

In April, Judge Michael Palmisano ruled that Wurst should be tried as an adult following days of conflicting testimony from psychiatrists about the boy’s mental state.

In that adult trial ruling, Palmisano wrote:

“The evidence suggests the defendant made a conscious decision to arm himself with a deadly weapon and ammunition, after which he selected his victims and executed his plan,”

The judge added:

“the evidence is insufficient to show that if the defendant is truly suffering from mental illness at this stage, he would be ostensibly cured and nondangerous upon his release from a juvenile facility.”

Wurst’s attorneys had planned an insanity defense. Defense attorney Philip Friedman said:

“The only way he would have done better is if the jury would have found him insane, and insanity is a very difficult defense, especially in the tenor of today’s times with these shootings around the country,”

Friedman also said:

“There's just a lot of hostility out there. It's very difficult for the average jury to excuse people's behavior for these actions, so we have to take into account that climate when we make a decision like this,”

Sentencing

Wurst pleaded guilty to third-degree murder.

On September 9, 1999, Judge Michael Palmisano sentenced Andrew Wurst to a total of 30 to 60 years in prison. The sentence was imposed on the murder charge and for attempted homicide, assault and weapons charges.

Wurst had to serve at least 30 years before becoming eligible for parole.

Wurst’s plea and sentence were described as sparing him the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. Judge Michael Palmisano’s sentencing was referenced in connection with a possible mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder.

District Attorney Joe Conti asked questions to ensure they understood the plea agreement. Wurst answered each question with a near-inaudible “yes” or “no.” Wurst’s mother, Cathy, also answered quietly.

Wurst stood before the judge with closely-cropped hair and wearing green prison overalls, with his mother at his side.

Palmosiano had recommended that Wurst begin his sentence in a separate unit at a state prison for inmates younger than 18 who had been convicted as adults. That unit was part of the state prison at Houtzdale, Clearfield County.

Appeals

A Supreme Court of Pennsylvania opinion referenced in 2005 and 2006 is included in the case summary.

Outcome

Wurst was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison on September 9, 1999.

He was described as serving a 60-year sentence in a prison for young offenders and as being eligible for parole within serving 30 years for third-degree murder and attempted murder charges.

Aftermath

Attorney Charles Longo of Cleveland said he represented Debbie Gillette, John Gillette’s wife, and that Debbie Gillette planned to file a civil lawsuit against the Wurst family and a landscaping business owned by Jerome Wurst, the boy’s father.

After the plea, it was said that the victims approved of the plea agreement, which spared them the hardship of a trial. Gillette’s wife, Debbie, and the other victims were in court, and none would comment afterward.

Wurst had been the subject of publicity in Erie County, and jurors for his trial were to have been selected in Washington County, about 140 miles south of Erie.

It was also noted that the shooting occurred within months of those involving students in Jonesboro, Ark., West Paducah, Ky., and Pearl, Miss., and that the town of Edinboro had a population described as 7,000.

In popular culture, the hardcore band One Dead Three Wounded got their name from the incident.

Other details

Wurst was referred to as a pupil of Parker Middle School.

Students described Wurst as a loner.