Seal Beach salon where eight were shot to death will re-open

The Seal Beach salon where eight people – customers and workers alike – were shot to death in Orange County’s worst mass killing will reopen for business later this year, the wife of the shop owner says.

Sandi Fannin, whose husband, Randy, was among those shot to death last October, told the Orange County Register that after extensive remodeling, Salon Meritage would open for business again, under the same name and in the same location.

"I want to do it for the people who died and for the people of Seal Beach,” Fannin told the newspaper. “And I think my husband would want me to."

Full coverage: Deadly shooting at Seal Beach beauty salon

Six women and two men were shot to death at the Seal Beach salon after Scott Dekraai allegedly opened fire, authorities said.

Dekraai’s former wife, who he was battling for custody rights of their young son, was among those slain.

The killings shocked the tiny beachfront community and brought residents together for impromptu vigils and the salon became a memorial, engulfed in flowers that arrived by the armful.

"Violence and crime like that can't win over the goodness of people," Fannin said.

The Laguna Beach resident told the Register she thought and prayed about her decision before engaging in talks with a designer and the building's owner.

Temecula church vandalized in possible hate crime

A burned Bible and a bench marked with a pentagram were tossed outside of a Catholic church in Temecula, prompting an investigation of a possible hate crime.

The pentagram was found scrawled on a bench that was tossed into a fountain outside of St. Catherine of Alexandria Church last week, Riverside County sheriff’s officials told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Then, on Monday, a charred Bible was discovered by parishioners outside the main doors to the sanctuary. Several gravestones were also knocked off their bases the same day at a nearby cemetery.

“It’s a little sad ...” Manuel Cardoza, a priest at St. Catherine’s, told the Press-Enterprise. “Unfortunately, these things happen in this world.”

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Accused mass murderer pleads not guilty in Seal Beach shooting

The man accused in a mass shooting at a Seal Beach beauty salon in October pleaded not guilty Wednesday to  eight counts of murder with special circumstances and a single felony count of attempted murder.

Scott Dekraai wore a mustard-yellow jumpsuit and glasses, his hands hancuffed in front of him. He was kept behind a barrier and did not speak during the hearing in Santa Ana.

Dekraai will next appear in court Jan. 27. The shooting was the largest mass killing in Orange County history.

Photos: Seal Beach salon shooting rampage | Full Coverage

Dozens of family members and friends of the victims were at the hearing. Before letting them enter the courtroom, however, an Orange County sheriff's deputy warned them to have no outbursts, saying he knew there was a lot of emotion connected with this case.

Some of those in attendance wore pins with loved ones` faces. Others wore T-shirts with hearts bearing the words "Support in love Seal Beach."

Scott Dekraai indicted in Seal Beach salon shooting

The man accused of killing eight people in a Seal Beach hair Salon in the largest mass murder in Orange County history was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury.

Scott Dekraai, 42, was indicted on eight counts of murder with special circumstances and one felony count of attempted murder in connection with the Oct. 12 rampage at Salon Meritage, the Orange County district attorney's office said.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case, which shocked the normally tranquil seaside community after Dekraai allegedly walked into the crowded salon where his ex-wife worked and sprayed it with gunfire.

Photos: Seal Beach salon shooting rampage | Full Coverage

He had been involved in a bitter custody dispute with his ex wife, Michelle Fournier, over their 8-year-old son, according to court records. Dekraai was intent on killing Fournier and others who were inside the salon, prosecutors said.

Accused Seal Beach salon shooter Scott Dekraai pleads not guilty

As teary-eyed friends and family of the victims looked on, the man accused in the most deadly shooting rampage in Orange County history pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing eight customers and employees -- including his former wife -- at a Seal Beach hair salon.

Scott Dekraai, 42, is charged with eight counts of first-degree murder and a single count of attempted murder.

Dekraai, who was arrested only a short distance from the hair salon after the shooting, appeared alert and responsive as Orange County Superior Court Judge Erick L. Larsh spoke with him in court.

According to authorities, Dekraai, wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with several guns, walked into Salon Meritage on Oct. 12, shot his ex-wife Michelle Fournier, and then turned his gun on other salon clients and employees, including shop owner Randy Fanin. There was a single survivor.

Dekraai is also accused of fatally shooting a man in the parking lot outside the salon.

Dekraai had been involved in a bitter custody dispute with Fournier over their 8-year-old son.

Friends and family of the victims were silent during the hearing, but afterward they spoke about the difficulty of not having their loved ones around during the holidays.

Seal Beach shooting rampage suspect to enter plea

The man accused in a shooting rampage at a Seal Beach hair salon that left eight people dead is scheduled to be in court Tuesday to enter a plea in the murder case.

Scott Dekraai, 41, allegedly walked into the Salon Meritage wearing a bulletproof vest on Oct. 12 and opened fire, killing his former wife, six salon employees and customers, and a man who was in the parking lot near the salon. A ninth victim was seriously injured.

Dekraai was arrested immediately after the shooting and was originally scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 14.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Erick L. Larsh granted a continuance so Dekraai's attorney could assemble a defense team. Larsh also ordered Dekraai to undergo a medical evaluation.

Dekraai is slated to appear for an arraignment at the court in Santa Ana at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

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Photo: Scott Dekraai appears in court in October. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times  

Families of Seal Beach victims file suit against accused shooter

The families of two people killed in a shooting rampage at a Seal Beach salon last month have filed lawsuits against the alleged gunman, Scott Evans Dekraai.

Eight people were killed in the Oct. 12 shooting at Salon Meritage, the worst massing killing  in Orange County history.

Dekraai was targeting his ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, 48, and shot her first after entering the shop where she worked as a stylist, authorities said. The two were locked in a custody battle over their 8-year-old son.

Authorities said that as Dekraai fired round after round, he also shot salon employee Christy Wilson, 47, who he later told police had testified against him in the custody dispute.

Wilson’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Monday; Fournier’s family filed one Friday.

The lawsuit filed by Fournier’s parents on behalf of the 8-year-old child, alleges that the consequences of Dekraai’s actions have “devastated” many families and friends and left their daughter’s son an orphan.

Seal Beach salon shooting suspect: 'I know what I did'

The man who shot nine people and killed his ex-wife in a Seal Beach salon massacre drove to the beach that morning, sat on the sand and pondered shooting the woman, according to a search warrant made public this week.

Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, is charged with eight counts of murder in the Oct. 12 shooting, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

According to a police affidavit that outlines an interview with Dekraai, he argued over the phone with his ex-wife, Michelle Fournier, that morning over a custody dispute regarding their 8-year-old son.

Seal Beach salon shooting: The victims

After the argument, Dekraai went to his Huntington Beach home and armed himself with three handguns, magazines, ammunition and a bullet-proof vest. He then drove to Bolsa Chica State Beach where he "sat on the beach and pondered shooting his wife," according to the statement.

He then drove to Salon Meritage, where Fournier worked as a stylist, walked up to her and shot her multiple times.

He then shot a woman identified as "Christy." Dekraai told police she had testified against him in the custody dispute. Christy Wilson was a stylist at the salon and died in the shooting.

Randy Fannin, the owner of the salon, ran up to Dekraai armed with scissors, according to the affidavit. Dekraai shot him at the front doors and told police he then started shooting people at random inside the salon and saw them as "collateral damage."

Scott Dekraai, defendant in Seal Beach shootings, gets new lawyer

The man accused in Orange County’s deadliest shooting rampage will be represented by a public defender.

Scott Evans Dekraai, 42, told Judge Erick L. Larsh in a brief court appearance Monday that he could not afford legal counsel. He had been represented in an Oct. 14 court appearance by a family lawyer.

Public defender Scott Sanders has taken over the case.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Simmons, who is co-prosecuting the case, said the change of attorneys will not delay the case.

Dekraai will be arraigned Nov. 29 in Orange County Superior Court. He faces eight counts of special-circumstances first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.

Sanders would not comment on the case or say whether the court has allowed Dekraai, a Huntington Beach resident, to take his anti-psychotic medications or use a spinal cord stimulator to ease pain from a 2007 boating accident.

“I know that people are experiencing tremendous pain, and it’s very sad,” Sanders said in an interview. “But I don’t want to disrespect this whole process or talk about a case that I’m just coming to at the earliest point.”

Prosecutors are expecting an insanity defense, but Sanders said it’s too early to tell what type of defense he will mount.

Some relatives of the eight victims attended the hearing. Paul Wilson, the husband of salon employee Christy Lynn Wilson, 47, donned a black suit with two round pins with photos of his late wife.

Dekraai allegedly walked into the Salon Meritage at 1:20 p.m. Oct. 12 with a bulletproof vest and three guns and shot and killed eight people and injured a ninth. He was allegedly seeking revenge on his ex-wife, whom he had bitterly fought over custody of their 8-year-old child.

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Seal Beach businesses raising money for salon shooting victims

Businesses in the same shopping center as Salon Meritage, the scene of Orange County's deadliest shooting, are donating proceeds from their sales on Monday to the Seal Beach Victims' Fund.

A number of restaurants, salons, spas and professional offices in the Bay City Center, including doctors, lawyers and accountants, are participating. The shopping center is on Pacific Coast Highway in Seal Beach.

Most of the businesses are donating at least 20% to 25% of their proceeds to the fund, with some others donating much more, said Deb Machen, vice president of the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce and a trustee for the fund. 

PHOTOS: Seal Beach shooting

Another business, Crema Cafe at 322 Main St. in Seal Beach, will donate 100% of its proceeds, she said. The fund was established to assist the families of the victims of the shooting rampage that left eight people dead and one seriously wounded.

The fund, Machen said, is a central repository for donations, which is being run jointly by the city of Seal Beach, the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce, and Watson and Associates, the company that owns the Bay City Center.

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