Geneva Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison For Halifax Mass-Murder Plot
News sources around the globe are reporting today (Friday, April 20, 2018) that Lindsay Souvannarath, the Geneva woman accused of plotting a 2015 Valentine’s Day mass shooting in Halifax, Canada, has been sentenced to life in prison.
In making the sentence, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Peter Rosinski said Souvannarath has expressed no remorse for the plot to open fire and kill as many people as possible at a food court mall in Nova Scotia.
Geneva High School Yearbook screenshot of Lindsay Souvannarath.
Souvannarath, now 26, was part of a trio who had plotted the attack. Randall Steven Shepherd of Halifax entered a guilty plea last year to conspiracy to commit murder; James Gamble, a 19-year-old friend of Shepherd’s, who had planned to attack the mall, was found dead in his home by authorities investigating the incident in 2015.
Souvannarath had pleaded guilty to the offense in 2017.
According to a 14-page Agreed Statement of Facts provided by the Nova Scotia, Canada, Supreme Court, Souvannarath had “developed a fascination with the Columbine high school massacre.”
She began to communicate with Gamble over Facebook and ultimately developed a relationship with Gamble and his friend, Shepherd, both of whom were obsessed with school shootings and other mass killing sprees, according to the court document.
Kane County Investigation
It was work by Kane County law enforcers that helped lead to Souvannarath’s plea and sentencing.
“After Ms. Souvannarath’s arrest on Feb. 13, 2015, the Kane County Court in the state of Illinois ordered Facebook Inc. to produce the chatlogs from Ms. Souvannarath’s Facebook account,” the document said.
The Facebook messages appear to be the sole means of communication between Souvannarath and Gamble, and “thus is a near complete capture of their relationship,” the Agreed Statement of Facts says. There is no evidence suggesting they communicated over the telephone or through other electronic means such as Skype or FaceTime.
In 2015, Geneva police also assisted in the investigation, executing a search warrant at Souvannarath’s home and removing “multiple items,” according to court documents.
‘Idolized’ Mass Killers
According to the report, they idolized past mass/serial killers, wanted to commit a mass or spree-killing and quickly agreed to be partners, believed their destiny was to commit this massacre.
“They both deeply desired to achieve infamy and notoriety through the mass killing of others,” the Agreed Statement of Facts said.
The mass-killing was to take place on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, in the food court at the Halifax Shopping Centre. The mall was ultimately chosen as they felt it would result in “mass panic.”
In the days leading up to Feb. 12, 2015, Souvannarath “obtained sufficient funds to enable her to purchase a one-way ticket from Chicago to Halifax.” On the morning of Feb. 12, 2015, she snuck out of her family home and took a train to Chicago O’Hare Airport before boarding her flight to Halifax, the document says.
On this same day, an anonymous tip was received by Crime Stoppers. Detective/Constable Kristopher Barr of the Halifax Regional Police, was assigned to investigate. That investigation eventually led to involvement of other agencies.
Officers surrounded Gamble’s home in Timberlea, Nova Scotia, while Souvannarath was en route to Halifax and Shepherd was in the process of picking her up from the airport.
Gamble committed suicide using his father’s hunting rifle. Police arrested Shepherd and Souvannarath at the airport without incident.
Rosinski, the Nova Scotia judge, told the Global News that the sentence was meant to “send a clear message” to people conspiring to kill multiple people that “they will pay a heavy price.”
Despite the life sentence, authorities said Souvannarath could be eligible for parole in seven years.
SOURCE: Nova Scotia Supreme Court Agreed Statement of Facts and media reports
