Kip Kinkel
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| Kipland Philip Kinkel | |
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 Kip Kinkel dated May 22, 1998.
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| Born | August 30, 1982 Springfield, Oregon, USA |
| Charge(s) | murder, attempted murder |
| Penalty | 111 years imprisonment |
| Status | in prison |
| Occupation | student |
Kipland Philip Kinkel (born August 30, 1982) became the youngest person in Oregon history to receive a de facto life sentence. He killed his parents, and afterwards two of his classmates while wounding 25 at Thurston High School, where he was a student. He was 15 years old at the time of the incident, and had a history of clinical depression. He is currently serving a 111-year custodial order, and will never be eligible for parole. When he turns 25 this year, Kinkel will be transferred from the Oregon Youth Authority juvenile facility to an adult prison, where he will spend the rest of his life.
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[edit] Early Childhood
Kinkel's parents were Spanish teachers. The Kinkel family had spent one year in Spain when he was 6, where he attended a non-English-speaking school.
Kinkel's sister, a college student six years his senior, was living in Hawaii at the time.
Kinkel had a strong interest in guns and bombs from an early age; his father at first resisted this, but later signed his son up for gun safety lessons, and bought him a few high-powered rifles. His father had a short temper and high expectations of his children, and his extended family had a history of alcoholism and mental illness[citation needed].
[edit] Expulsion
On May 20, 1998, the day before the initial shooting, Kinkel was expelled from Thurston High School for being in possession of a handgun. Korey Ewert stole a gun from Scott Keeney, the father of one of his friends, and arranged to sell it to Kinkel the night before. The next day, Kinkel bought it from him for $110, a Beretta .32 pistol loaded with a 9 round magazine. Kinkel put the handgun in a paper bag and left it in his locker.
Scott Keeney soon discovered he was missing a handgun, and called the police to report it, and gave them a list of names of students he believed might have stolen the firearm. Kinkel's name was not on the list. Eventually, the school became aware of his possible involvement and sent for him. When he was checked for weapons on his person, he reportedly stated: "Look, I'm gonna be square with you guys; the gun's in my locker". Kinkel was then arrested along with Korey Ewert, expelled, then released from police custody and driven home by his father, Bill.
[edit] Murder of parents
Later that afternoon, Kinkel retrieved his locked up Ruger semi-automatic rifle from his parents' room, loaded it, and proceeded to the kitchen, where he shot his father once in the back of the head as he was drinking coffee, killing him instantly. Kinkel's father had told his son that he would send him to military school and that he was a "horrible boy."[citation needed]
He then waited for his mother to come home. When she did, at about 6:00 p.m., Kinkel shot her a total of six times through the head and heart. He later claimed he wanted to protect his parents from the embarrassment his expulsion would have caused them. Kinkel left his mother's body in the garage and dragged his father into the bathroom, where he locked the door. He placed a white sheet over each of the bodies.
During the night he also played a song from the soundtrack of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet repeatedly. It was still playing when the Police arrived.
[edit] May 21: Shooting at Thurston High
On May 21, Kinkel drove his mother's Ford Explorer to his former high school. He wore a trenchcoat to hide the four weapons he carried, including:
- Hunting Knife (purchased for him by his father)
- 9MM Glock 19 pistol
- Ruger .22 Semi-Automatic Rifle
- Ruger .22 pistol
He left his mother's car outside the school and carried a backpack filled with ammunition. He entered the hallway and fired two shots, one fatally wounding Ben Walker and the other wounding Ryan Atteberry. Kinkel then entered the cafeteria and, walking across the cafeteria, fired the remaining 48 rounds from the 50-round magazine in his rifle, wounding 24 students and killing one by the name of Mikeal Nicholauson.
When his rifle ran out of ammunition and Kinkel began to reload, wounded student Jake Ryker tackled Kinkel, who attempted to kill Ryker with the Glock. He only managed to fire one shot before Ryker knocked the gun out of his hand. More students, including Jake's brother Josh, helped restrain Kinkel until the police arrived and arrested him.
Nicholauson died at the scene, and Walker died after being transported to the hospital and kept on life support until his parents arrived. The other students, including Jake Ryker (who was in critical condition) were also taken to the hospital with a variety of wounds.
At the high school, he fired a total of 51 rounds, 50 being .22 bullets from the rifle, and one from the 9mm Glock.
[edit] Arrest and sentencing
Kinkel was arrested. When brought to the police station, he lunged at Al Warthen, a police officer, with his knife, screaming "Shoot me, kill me!" The officer sprayed Kinkel with pepper spray, thwarting his attack. Kinkel later said that he wanted to trick the officer into shooting him, and that he had wanted to commit suicide after killing his parents, but could not bring himself to do it.
It was reported that he had two bullets strapped to his chest at the time of the shooting, in order to end his life; however, he was never able to use them.
At his sentencing, the defense presented a number of experts in mental health in an effort to prove that Kinkel was mentally ill. The only psychologist who had seen Kinkel before the shootings maintained that he was in satisfactory mental health. However, he had only seen Kinkel for a total of nine sessions, after which his parents felt that he had made satisfactory progress.
On September 24, 1999, three days before jury selection was set to begin, Kinkel pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, foregoing the possibility of being acquitted by reason of insanity. It was hoped he would receive a 30-40 year prison sentence because of his guilty plea, but in November 1999, Kinkel was sentenced to more than 112 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. His last statement to the court was that he was sorry for what he had done.
In January 2000, a request for a new trial was filed based on claims that Kinkel's lawyers failed to properly pursue an insanity defense. A judge was expected to rule on that appeal within the year, but as of 2006 no motion has been given.
[edit] Serving time
Kinkel is currently serving his sentence at the Maclaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon (Public Domain). He completed his high school diploma and serves food at meal times and does laundry and other work around the facility (Lieberman, 2006) He also sees a psychologist and takes medication (not substantiated). His sister still visits him (not substantiated) Lieberman, J. 2006, "The shooting game", Seven Locks Press, Santa Ana: Ca, United States.
[edit] Victims
[edit] Kinkel home
- Bill Kinkel, by a single .22 shot to the back of the head
- Faith Kinkel, by 6 .22 rounds to the head and chest
[edit] Thurston High School
- Ben Walker, by a single .22 round to the head
- Mikeal Nicholauson, injured by shots to the chest and thigh, and killed by a point blank bullet to the head.
[edit] Trivia
- Kip Kinkel is referenced in the Bizzy Bone song "Social Studies"; "put these headphones on and let me murder you like you murdered your mom."
- Kinkel is referenced in the controversial Super Columbine Massacre RPG!; the shooters remember his 111-year sentence shortly before deciding to commit suicide.
- In 2000, PBS aired a documentary called "Frontline: The Killer at Thurston High". The documentary looks into the life of Kinkel, including his depression and fascination with firearms.[1]
[edit] External links
Interviews with Kip's sister Kristen and other information:
A CourtTV article on Kinkel:
CNN archives:
