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OC DA Will Seek Death Penalty for Suspect in Seal Beach Salon Killing Rampage
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas announced Friday morning he is seeking the death penalty for the suspect in the Seal Beach salon killing spree that claimed eight lives and left a ninth victim injured.
Rackauckas held a press conference today to discuss the pending eight counts of murder and one attempted murder that suspect Scott Evans Dekraai will face.
Dekraai, 41, is the estranged husband of one of the victims, salon employee Michelle. He is thought to have strapped on body armor before heading into Seal Beach's Salon Meritage where he engaged in a shooting spree, striking about half the people in the salon at the time.
Rackauckas called the killings a "senseless murder spree," and attributes the motive to "revenge." The DA explained today that his office believes Dekraii perpetrated the shooting rampage in order to take down his ex-wife following a custody dispute over the couple's 8-year-old son.
At the time of the shooting, Rackauckas says the Dekraai's son was at his school, waiting for one of his parents to come pick him up. "That little boy is a victim," noted Rackauckas, adding, "he has to grow up knowing that his dad is a mass-murderer. So what kind of sick, twisted fatherly love might that be?"
Dekraai is expected to be arraigned later today.
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