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Tag: William Spengler

  • Dawn Nguyen Sentenced To 8 Years For Role In Shooting Spree

    It was a Christmas tragedy that has since haunted the Webster, N.Y. community.

    On Christmas Eve in 2012, a gunman named William Spengler stormed into the West Webster firehouse and went on a shooting spree.

    The 63-year-old injured firefighters Ted Scardino and Joseph Hofstetter and killed firefighters Mike Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka.

    A body found at Spengler’s home was later identified as belonging to his 67-year-old sister Cheryl.

    The man eventually took his own life on a Lake Ontario beach, leaving no hope of direct justice for the pain caused on that awful morning.

    State and federal prosecutors instead turned toward the next best possible action.

    Dawn Nguyen was arrested and charged for the role she played in allowing Spengler access to the firearms used to kill the firefighters, his sister, and then himself.

    According to prosecutors, the 25-year-old lied on paperwork that she filled out when purchasing weapons for Spengler, who as a convicted felon was not permitted by law to own those weapons at all.

    Spengler had previously served jail time for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer. It was a crime for which the man had served 17 years in prison.

    Nguyen pleaded guilty to federal charges in June; she had already been convicted at the state level in April.

    Her defense attorney claimed that Nguyen bought the weapons in 2010, but had no idea how Spengler intended to use them.

    Judge David Larimer informed her that she “gave [Spengler] the instruments of death” he would use on himself and five others. The weapons purchased and used include a semi automatic rifle and shotgun.

    Nguyen apologized in open court on Wednesday ahead of her sentencing. She turned to the surviving firefighters who were in attendance and shared that she took full responsibility for her actions.

    She added that her choices would haunt her for the rest of her life.

    Nguyen was sentenced to eight years by Larimer on federal charges. The federal sentence will run concurrently with the one and a half year sentence already handed down by the state of New York.

  • Killer Left Chilling Note, Said He Liked Killing People

    Nobody really knew what to make of William Spengler after he set his house on fire and then proceeded to kill two firefighters who arrived on the scene. In a new note found by investigators, we now know that the killer fully intended to kill a lot more people before he was stopped by law enforcement.

    The AP reports that Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering held a news conference on Tuesday revealing that his department’s investigation found a note left by Spengler. The note laid out the killer’s plan of burning down his entire neighborhood and killing many more people than the two firefighters and his sister that lost their lives on Monday. Pickering noted that Spengler’s writing was mostly incoherent rambling, but it did contain one rather disturbing line – “I still have to get ready to see how much of the neighborhood I can burn down, and do what I like doing best, killing people.”

    Investigators are still trying to piece together what caused Spengler to go off on Christmas Eve, but this isn’t the first time that he’s been involved in violence. He was charged in the death of his grandmother in 1980, but only served 17 years after reaching a plea bargain that reduced his charge to manslaughter. After getting out of prison, he lived with his sister and mother. Some speculate the death of his mother in October, whom he reportedly loved very much, may have set him off. The investigation is still ongoing, however, and may reveal more insight into what caused Spengler to snap on Christmas Eve.