A Huntington Beach man charged with killing eight people at a Seal Beach salon last month knew exactly what he was doing, and he told police he spent time plotting out the massacre at the beach that morning, according to court documents.
Special Section: Ongoing Coverage of Seal Beach Massacre
Scott Evan Dekraai told detectives he sat on the sand at Bolsa Chica State Beach the morning of Oct. 12 and “pondered killing his ex-wife,” after the two argued on the phone earlier that day, the documents state.
Dekraai told police he then drove himself to the Salon Meritage armed with three guns, extra ammunition and a bulletproof vest, and began shooting at people inside the salon, starting with his ex-wife, Michelle Fournier.
“I know what I did,” Dekraai said to Seal Beach officer moments after his arrest, according to the statement of probable cause.
The documents, which include a search warrant and an affidavit, provide details into the bitter child custody battle raging between Dekraai and Fournier over their 8-year-old son.
Dekraai reportedly told Seal Beach Det. Gary Krogman that his son would come home from his mother’s house with bruises on his body and that he had documented the alleged abuse by taking pictures.
Police seized photographs “of apparent child injuries” during a search of Dekraai’s home, where they also carried away several guns, computers, calendars and journals, as was disclosed in the return search warrant.
The warrant, which was made public this week, sought permission to look for items “that would show or suggest a motive for the attack.”
The court documents show that Dekraai did not hold much back when detailing his own account of what happened that day.
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Dekraai reportedly admitted to police that the second person he shot was one of his ex-wife’s colleagues, a woman named “Christy” who Dekraai said recently testified against him in the child custody case.
Dekraai claimed the salon owner, Randy Fannin, came at him with scissors and that Fannin was next to die.
In the court documents, Dekraai admitted to shooting random people for “collateral damage.”
He told police the last person he shot was David Caouette, a man sitting in his car, because he thought Caouette may have been an “off-duty or undercover police officer and thought he was reaching to his floorboard for a weapon."
Dekraai is charged with eight counts of murder. Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.
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