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Richard
Wade FARLEY
At this time, Farley was sending one or two letters
to Black per week. Although there were periods of times when the letters
would cease, in total Farley sent about two hundred letters over a
period of four years, with the last letter sent from his prison cell
after his rampage at ESL. Black moved four times during those four years,
but each time she did, Farley had managed to locate her address again.
In autumn of 1985, Laura Black asked the Human
Resources Department at ESL for help. ESL ordered Farley to attend
psychological counseling sessions, and although he attended these
sessions, his harassment of Black continued. By spring of 1986, Farley
was threatening fellow ESL employees, which, combined with his poor work
performance, led ESL to terminate his employment in May 1986. He had
been working at ESL for ten years. He spent several months stalking
Black full time, then found work at a rival company.
Farley delighted in setting up impossible situations
for Black, taking her lack of answer as an affirmative, and any
communication, even negative, as encouragement. For example, he called
and left a message to set up a date, which she ignored. Since she didn't
say no, he showed up at her door in anticipation. When she told him to
go away, he took it as proof that she was playing games with him. There
were also evidence that Farley tried testing code combinations for hours
on a garage opener trying to open Black's garage. He also once tried to
rent the adjoining unit to Black's in the same complex, forcing Black to
move away.
Farley continued to write letters to Black in 1987.
He wrote in one such letter, "... The shit has hit the fan... all
because you thought I'm a joke and refuse to listen or understand that I
am gravely serious." By this time, Farley had lost his house due to
foreclosure and was under investigation by the IRS for owing taxes.
However, his harassment never stopped.
In January 1988, Black found a package on her car
windshield. Inside was a note from Farley, with a copy of her house key.
Laura Black survived, but was hospitalized for
nineteen days. She continued to work for the same company. Farley wrote
her yet again from his prison cell, claiming that she had finally won.
During trial, Farley admitted to the killings, but
pleaded "not guilty", claiming that he never planned to kill but only
wished to get Black's attention or commit suicide in front of her for
rejecting him. His attorney claimed that Farley never was a violent man
and only had his judgment temporarily clouded by his obsession with
Laura Black, and that Farley will likely never kill again.
The prosecution documented every step of the stalking,
produced all the letters he sent, and documented his shotgun and
ammunition purchase a week before his rampage at ESL, as well as his
other weapons. All this amounted to extensive planning, which was
evidence of premeditation.
On October 21, 1991,
Farley was convicted of all seven counts of first degree murder.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Biafore Jr. sentenced Farley to death. Due
to California law, there are several automatic appeals. As of 2009,
Farley is still serving his time in San Quentin Prison. Prior to the
shooting, Farley had no criminal record.
On July 2, 2009 the California Supreme Court upheld
Farley's death sentence (People v Farley (2009) 46 Cal.4th
1053).
In the wake of this case and the high profile murder
of actress Rebecca Schaeffer, California passed the first anti-stalking
laws in the nation.
Wikipedia.org
"He said he was in love with her from the first
moment he saw her - it was her smile," said lieut. Ruben Grijalva, a
Sunnyvale Public Safety Department hostage negotiator. Lieutenant
Grijalva said he persuaded the man, Richard W. Farley, to surrender
almost six hours after he took over a sprawling two-story building at
the ESL Inc. plant here in a hail of gunfire.
"He knew she was not attracted to him," Lieutenant
Grijalva added, "but he told her it wouldn't end until either she went
out with him or he died."
According to the account provided by Lieutenant
Grijalva and other investigators, Mr. Farley had armed himself with a
shotgun, a high-powered rifle and two automatic pistols. The 39-year-old
computer programmer who was dismissed by the company more than two years
ago, shot his way into the building shortly before 3 P.M., the
authorities said.
Highly Sensitive Research
Industry sources say the company, a subsidiary of TRW
Inc., is involved in some of the most highly classified research
projects of any concern in the high-technology industrial community
south of San Francisco.
According to these sources, ESL Inc. specializes in
the development of electronic systems that eavesdrop on and decode
encrypted communications of foreign nations, jam enemy communications
and perform other functions for customers that include the Pentagon, the
Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.
Lieutenant Grijalva said that, in the telephone
negotiations before his surrender, Mr. Farley said he initially intended
only to "shoot out" some of the company's computers. When employees
confronted him in the building, he said he then felt compelled to shoot
them for "defensive" reasons, Lieutenant Grijalva said. Then, the
authorities said, he stalked and shot Laura Black, a 26-year-old
electrical engineer, the object of his unrequited affections, and the
cause of his dismissal.
Reloaded as He Walked
Reloading his weapon from a bandoleer swung over his
shoulder as he walked through the hallways, the investigators said, Mr.
Farley fired at least 50 times, seemingly shooting everyone he
encountered.
As the shots echoed through the complex, employees
ran out the door, jumped out windows and barricaded themselves in
offices.
When Mr. Farley arrived at Ms. Black's office, the
investigators aid, she saw him and slammed her door, but he fired
through the door and hit her in the shoulder.
The shooting lasted almost half an hour, witnesses said. In the end, two
women and five men, all employees at the company, were dead. Four others,
including Ms Black, who suffered shoulder and spinal injures, were
wounded.
Couldn't Back Out
Lieutenant Grijalva quoted Mr. Farley as saying that
before he decided to enter the building, he sat alone in a rented motor
home in the company;s parking lot, contemplating whether he should go
ahead with his plans.
"Then he decided he had to go through with it," the
lieutenant aid. "He said he wanted to show the people who laughed at him.
He didn't want to be considered a wimp."
Mr. Farley apparently gained entry to the high-security
building, policemen said, by firing into an electronic security lock
that allowed him to enter the complex. Spokesmen for ESL Inc. said today
they had no warning of the attack and had no other reason to suspect Mr.
Farley of plotting it.
According to police officials, Mr. Farley, a beefy,
dark-haired man with thick cheeks who was born Texas, began pressing his
affections on Ms. Black more than three years ago.
Although she repeatedly turned down his requests for
a date, they said, he persisted, frequently telephoning her home,
writing her letters and following her in his car. Almost two and a half
years ago,she complained to her supervisors and he was discharged.
Even after Mr. Farley was dismissed and became
engaged to a student at nearby San Jose State University, investigators
say he continued to pursue Ms. Black. Her lawyer applied for a
restraining order that would have barred him from contacting her. A
court hearing on her request was to have been held today, and
investigators speculated it might have been the catalyst for the
violence.
Lieutenant Grijalva said he persuaded Mr. Farley to
surrender by promising that he would not be shot if he laid down his
weapons and left the building with his hands raised. He also promised Mr.
Farley, who had complained he was hungry, a sandwich and a diet cola.
The dead were identified as Joe Silva, 43; Buddy
Williams, 26; Glenda Mortiz, 27; Ron Reed, 26; Helen Laparter, 49;
Lawrence J. Kane, 46, and Ron Doney, 36.
Before he surrendered, Lieutenant Grijalva said, Mr.
Farley had expressed remorse about the shootings and said: "I'm not
crazy - I know I will die as a result of this."
Richard Farley being escorted by two bailiffs.
Laura Black was stalked by Richard Farley for four
years
and wounded in the shooting.