Kip Kinkel

Kipland Philip Kinkel
Born	August 30 1982 (1982-08-30) (age 25) Springfield, Oregon, U.S.
Charge(s)	murder, attempted murder
Penalty	111 years imprisonment
Status	in prison
Occupation	student
Parents	Bill Kinkel, Faith Kinkel

Kipland Philip Kinkel (born August 30, 1982) is an American spree killer who became the youngest person in Oregon history to receive a de facto life sentence without parole. He killed his parents, and afterwards two of his classmates while wounding 25 at Thurston High School in Springfield, where he was a student. Kinkel was 15 years old at the time of the incident, and had a history of clinical depression. He is currently serving a 111-year custodial order, and will never be eligible for parole.

Biography

Early childhood

Both of Kinkel's parents were Spanish teachers. The Kinkel family had spent one year in Spain when he was six, where he attended a non-English-speaking school.^[1] When Kinkel returned to Oregon, his teachers noticed that he was immature and lacked physical and emotional development. Based on the recommendation of his teachers, Kinkel's parents had him repeat the first grade.^[1] Kinkel had a strong interest in guns and bombs from an early age. His father at first resisted this, but later signed his son up for gun safety, bought him a .22 caliber rifle and eventually a 9mm Glock handgun.

Events leading to shooting

Expulsion

On May 20 1998, Kinkel was expelled from Thurston High School for being in possession of a handgun. A friend, Korey Ewert, had stolen a gun from Scott Keeney, the father of one of his friends, and arranged to sell it to Kinkel the night before. On the 20th, Kinkel paid $110 for the gun, a Beretta .32 pistol loaded with a 9 round magazine, which he then put in paper bag and left in his locker. Scott Keeney soon discovered he was missing a handgun, and called the police to report it, and gave them a list of names of students he believed might have stolen the firearm. Kinkel's name was not on the list. Eventually, the school became aware of his possible involvement and sent for him. When he was checked for weapons on his person, he reportedly stated: "Look, I'm gonna be square with you guys; the gun's in my locker". Kinkel was then arrested along with Korey Ewert, expelled, then released from police custody and driven home by his father, Bill.

Murder of parents

At 3:30 that afternoon, Kinkel retrieved his locked up Ruger semi-automatic rifle from his parents' room, loaded it, and proceeded to the kitchen, where he shot his father in the back of the head execution-style. He then waited for his mother to come home. When she did, at about 6:00 p.m., Kinkel told her that he loved her, dropped into a military firing stance and shot her four times through the head and twice in the heart. He later claimed he wanted to protect his parents from the embarrassment his expulsion would have caused them.^[2] Kinkel left his mother's body in the garage and dragged his father into the bathroom, where he locked the door. He placed a white sheet over each of the bodies. During the night he also played a song from the soundtrack of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet repeatedly, and it was still playing when the police arrived.

Shooting at Thurston High

On May 21, Kinkel drove his mother's Ford Explorer to his former high school. He wore a trenchcoat to hide the four weapons he carried: a hunting knife (purchased for him by his father), a 9mm Glock 19 pistol, a Ruger .22 semi-automatic rifle, and a Ruger .22 pistol. He was carrying 1,127 rounds of ammunition.^[3] He parked outside the school, entered the hallway and fired two shots, one fatally wounding Ben Walker and the other wounding Ryan Atteberry. Kinkel then entered the cafeteria and, walking across the cafeteria, fired the remaining 48 rounds from the 50-round magazine in his rifle, wounding 25 students^[4] and killing Mikeal Nicholauson, also a student. Kinkel fired a total of 51 rounds, 37 of which were hits.^[3] When his rifle ran out of ammunition and Kinkel began to reload, a wounded student tackled Kinkel, who attempted to kill the student with the Glock. He only managed to fire one shot before it was knocked out of his hand. More students helped restrain Kinkel until the police arrived and arrested him. Nicholauson died at the scene, and Walker died after being transported to the hospital and kept on life support until his parents arrived. The other students, including the one who tackled Kinkel, were also taken to the hospital with a variety of wounds. The student who tackled Kinkel was in critical condition. Four boys were hailed as heroes by some and received awards from the Boy Scouts.^[5]

Victims

Kinkel home

• Bill Kinkel, by a single .22 shot to the back of the head^[1]
• Faith Kinkel, by six .22 rounds to the head and heart^[1]

Thurston High School

• Ben Walker, by a single .22 round to the head
• Mikeal Nicholauson, executed by a single point-blank .22 round to the head (injured by shots to the chest and thigh)

Trial and imprisonment

Arrest and sentencing

Kinkel was arrested. When brought to the police station, he lunged at Al Warthen, a police officer, with his knife, screaming "Shoot me, kill me!" The officer sprayed Kinkel with pepper spray, thwarting his attack. Kinkel later said that he wanted to trick the officer into shooting him, and that he had wanted to commit suicide after killing his parents, but could not bring himself to do it. It was reported that he had two bullets strapped to his chest at the time of the shooting, in order to end his life; however, he was never able to use them. At his sentencing, the defense presented a number of experts in mental health in an effort to prove that Kinkel was mentally ill. The only psychologist who had seen Kinkel before the shootings maintained that he was in satisfactory mental health. However, he had only seen Kinkel for a total of nine sessions, after which his parents felt that he had made satisfactory progress. On September 24, 1999, three days before jury selection was set to begin, Kinkel pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, foregoing the possibility of being acquitted by reason of insanity. He was promised a 30-40 year prison sentence by the prosecution because of his guilty plea, but in November 1999, Kinkel was sentenced to more than 111 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. At sentencing, Kinkel apologized to the court for the murder of his parents and the shooting spree.^[6] In June 2007, Kinkel had been seeking a new trial. He has argued that his previous attorneys should have taken the case to trial and used the insanity defense. Two psychiatrists have testified that Kinkel exhibited the signs of paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the shooting. ^[7] As of August 2007, a Marion county judge denied him a new trial. His lawyer plans to appeal.^[8]

Serving time

Kinkel is currently serving his 111 year sentence at the Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem, Oregon. He completed his high school diploma while serving a portion of his life sentence at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon. On June 11 2007, Kinkel, nearing his 25th birthday (maximum age to be held as a juvenile in Oregon), was transferred from the Oregon Youth Authority juvenile facility, MacLaren, to Oregon State Correctional Institution in Salem.^[9]

References

External links

• Interviews with Kinkels's sister Kristen and other information
• CourtTV article on Kinkel