Brenda Ann Spencer

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Brenda Ann Spencer
Born	April 3, 1962 (1962-04-03) (age 47) San Diego, California, USA
Charge(s)	Murder, assault with a deadly weapon
Penalty	25 years to life imprisonment
Status	Imprisoned at California Institution for Women
Parents	Wallace Spencer Dot Spencer (divorced 1972)

Brenda Ann Spencer (born April 3, 1962) is a convicted American murderer who carried out a shooting spree at Cleveland Elementary School in San Diego, California on January 29, 1979, killing two and injuring nine others.

Contents 1 Early years 2 The attack 3 Conviction 4 In popular culture 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early years

Born in San Diego, California, Spencer took an early liking to guns and stories containing violence. In the Christmas of 1978, she was given a semi automatic .22 caliber rifle by her father, Wallace.

[edit] The attack

On January 29, 1979, Spencer posted herself in a window in her home, and started shooting randomly at the Cleveland Elementary School, which stood just opposite. In the end, eight students and one police officer were injured, while principal Burton Wragg and head custodian Mike Suchar were killed, trying to protect the youngsters. One of the children, who was hit in the hand, talked about the incident on a local radio station.

When asked why she went on her rampage, she shrugged and replied, "I don't like Mondays. This livens up the day."^[1] She also said, "I had no reason for it, and it was just a lot of fun"; "It was just like shooting ducks in a pond"' and "[The children] looked like a herd of cows standing around; it was really easy pickings." At the time of the shootings, she was 16 years old.^[2]

She later told prison officials she felt unwanted at the time of the shootings and was jealous of the other youths who had someone to protect them.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Conviction

Due to the seriousness of the crime the then 16 year old Spencer was tried as an adult. She pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, and was sentenced to prison for 25 years to life, the sentence being served at The California Institution for Women in Chino, California.^[1]After being made eligible for parole, she was denied four times, including on August 13, 2009,^[3] and will not be eligible again until 2019.^[4]

In 1993, Spencer claimed for the first time that she had been under the influence of drugs (PCP) and alcohol when she opened fire, adding that the state and her attorney conspired to hide her drug test results. Both former prosecutor Charles Patrick and Spencer's attorney, Michael McGlinn, vehemently denied that any evidence was hidden in her case.^[5][6]

At a parole hearing in 2001, Spencer claimed for the first time that her violence grew out of an abusive home life in which her father beat and sexually abused her. The board's chairman, Brett Granlund, expressed doubt about the allegations, saying Spencer had never discussed them with counselors.^[7]

[edit] In popular culture

Spencer's crime, her perceived lack of remorse, and lack of a serious explanation for her actions when she was captured, inspired the song "I Don't Like Mondays" by the Irish band The Boomtown Rats, written by Bob Geldof.^[2]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Several articles from San Diego Union Tribune
• I Don't Like Mondays, from Internet Movie Database
• The Killing of America, from Internet Movie Database