Article: Husband Of Seal Beach Massacre Victim Pushes Gun Control Reform

SEAL BEACH (CBSLA.com) — One year after the worst mass slaying ever in Orange County, one Seal Beach man hopes to prevent another tragedy like the one that claimed the life of his wife. KNX 1070′s Mike Landa reports 47-year-old Christy Lynn Wilson was among eight people killed when Scott Dekraai allegedly opened fire at Salon Meritage in October of last year. Dekraai, who was involved in a child custody dispute with his ex-wife Michelle Fournier, 48, has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder. Now Christy’s husband Paul has started an online petition proposing a new form of gun control which he calls “Christy’s Law”, which would prohibit anyone involved in a child custody dispute in California from buying a gun or accessing any firearm in their possession. “If you’re involved in a custody battle and you own a weapon, the other party should have the right to ask for that weapon to be taken away,” Wilson said. Investigators say Dekraai was in possession of three handguns at the time of the killings. But despite his proposal, Wilson insists his legislation is not intended to limit anyone’s Constitutional right to bear arms. “We’re not trying to take guns out of anybody’s hands; we’re trying to take guns out of the wrong people’s hands, the people that should not have those guns,” he said. Christy Wilson and Fournier were killed along with Randy Lee Fannin, 62; Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54; Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65; Laura Lee Elody, 46; Michele Daschbach Fast, 47; and David Caouette, 64. Hattie Stretz, 74, was wounded but survived. Paul Wilson also hopes to enact some reform of the legal process that would allow for civil lawsuits to run parallel to criminal cases. He filed suit against Dekraai last year, but he has cited his Fifth Amendment right to freeze the civil process while his criminal case is pending. On his Facebook page, Wilson said he hopes “these changes will prevent others from suffering as he and the family members of all the victims of the October 12 slayings have suffered and continue to suffer through a judicial system that is skewed towards the protection of killers, rather than victim.”

Casselberry, FL: Domestic dispute eyed in deadly Florida hair salon shooting

At least three people were killed and another injured Thursday at a Florida hair salon after a gunman entered the store and opened fire, MyFoxOrlando.com reported.

The Seminole County Sheriff's Office said the shooting occurred at the Las Dominicanas M & M Hair Salon in Casselberry, which is north of Orlando.

The gunman entered Las Dominicanas shortly after 11 a.m., police spokeswoman Sara Brady said. Two women escaped the salon.

The gunman, identified by police as Bradford Baumet, was served with a domestic violence injunction Oct. 9 and scheduled to be in Orange County court Thursday for a hearing with the salon's manager, Marcia Santiago, who took out the restraining order. Their relationship was not immediately clear.

About two hours before the hearing was to start, Baumet, 36, entered Las Dominicanas M & M Salon in Casselberry and started shooting, police spokeswoman Sara Brady said. Two women hid inside a bathroom and one ran outside through a back door.

Police have not identified the victims, and it was not clear whether Santiago was at the salon.

The phone rang unanswered at the salon. A video posted on the site has a woman explaining in Spanish the services offered at the salon for men and women.

About two dozen mourners gathered near the salon, located in a strip mall, and police taped off the parking lot. Yellow paper covered the salon's windows. A Dominican Republic flag was hung in the storefront along with a neon sign that read: Hair Cut. Color. Perm.

After the shooting, the gunman went to a friend's home in nearby Winter Park, about seven miles from the salon, and shot himself, said Seminole County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Heather Smith. He did not threaten his friends, but said "he had some problems, problems he could not remedy."

Brady said the fourth victim was being treated at an Orlando hospital. Her condition was not immediately released.

Casselberry is about 15 miles northeast of Orlando.

In October 2011, police say an angry ex-husband donned a bulletproof vest before killing his ex-wife and six of her fellow stylists and patrons at a Southern California hair salon. He also is accused of killing a man in the parking lot. Scott Dekraai is awaiting trial on murder charges.

Brockport, NY: Alexandra Kogut: Murdered College Student Left Ominous Last Tweet

SOURCE: http://abcnews.go.com/US/alexandra-kogut-murdered-college-student-left-ominous-tweet/story?id=17366495#.UGnUzZg830k Even though murdered college freshman Alexandra Kogut was starting college in a different town from her older boyfriend, the two kept in touch with playful Twitter messages anticipating each others' visits. On Sept. 2, Clayton Whittemore, a 21-year-old student at Utica College, tweeted at his girlfriend: " Saturday can't come sooner enough." "So excited for @Whittemore21 to come to Brockport Saturday and bring me half moons," Kogut wrote in September, according to the Utica Observer Dispatch. Her account has since been taken down. But one ominous last Tweet suggests something went wrong during their reunion very early Saturday morning, just hours before Whittemore allegedly beat Kogut to death. "Should've known," she wrote at 12:13 a.m. Prosecutors believe the popular freshman at the State University of New York Brockport campus was murdered early Saturday morning by Clayton Whittemore, 21, who had apparently been visiting for the weekend. Whittemore allegedly admitted to killing his girlfriend, according to a criminal complaint, The Associated Press reported. On Saturday, he pleaded not guilty to second degree murder charges. Authorities said Kogut's mother became concerned when her daughter did not answer her phone and requested campus police perform a welfare check. During that check, campus police found the communication major dead in her room at McLean Hall early Saturday morning. She appeared to have suffered severe trauma to her upper body, said Robert Kehoe of the Brockport Campus Police Department. Authorities caught up with Whittemore, who attends Utica College, at a service station in the town of Dewitt, about 110 miles east of Brockport early Saturday morning. "It's tragic when anyone loses their life," Kehoe told ABC News affiliate WHAM-TV. "When a young lady who's a college student and apparently in a safe environment, is brutally murdered as this young lady was, it's certainly a tragedy for her family and friends and the entire Brockport college community." Students and staff were notified of the death via email, social media and a message posted on the school's website. Kogut's family released a statement thanking the community for their support and asking for privacy during their time of grief. "Alexandra Kogut was a bright, beautiful young woman who was thrilled to be beginning her college education," the statement said. "Her lovely and sweet demeanor was truly infectious and she will forever be missed." On a "Remembering Alex Kogut" Facebook page, friends pledged to wear purple, the color for domestic violence awareness, today in honor of the freshman. Whittemore remains in the custody of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. He is due back in court for a preliminary hearing Thursday afternoon.

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

Once again, we are experiencing technical difficulties with the blog, and will be on short hiatus. We apologize for the inconvenience especially as October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Please visit http://www.vawnet.org/ for many types of well vetted information about domestic and sexual violence, DV Awareness month, and a new social media campaign "No More". JT and CM