| Background information | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jennifer San Marco |
| Occupation | Former postal worker |
| Born | December 6, 1961 |
| Died | January 30, 2006 (aged 44) Goleta, California, United States |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Killings | |
| Date | January 30, 2006 |
| Location(s) | Goleta, California, United States |
| Target(s) | Santa Barbara Processing and Distribution Center |
| Killed | 7 |
| Injured | 0 |
| Weapon(s) | S&W Model 915 (9mm) |
Jennifer San Marco (December 6, 1961 – January 30, 2006) (aged 44) was a former US Postal Service employee and mass murderer who killed seven people in Goleta, California.
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San Marco had previously worked as a dispatcher for the Santa Barbara Police Department in the mid-1990s, a job for which she underwent a background check and psychological evaluation. She left the job after several months, not unusual for the high-stress occupation.[1] San Marco eventually went to work for the postal service as a clerk, but left on psychological disability following a 2003 incident in which she had to be removed from her workplace by police.[2] San Marco subsequently moved to a small town in New Mexico sometime in 2004. According to colleagues, she had a history of making racially charged statements, and once attempted to start a publication entitled The Racist Press.[3]
On January 30, 2006, San Marco shot and killed her one-time neighbor, Beverly Graham, and then subsequently drove to the mail processing plant at which she previously worked in Goleta, California. San Marco entered the sprawling plant by driving through a gate behind another car. She gained entry to the building by taking an employee's identification badge at gunpoint.[2] She then shot and killed six employees of the plant with a pistol before taking her own life.
San Marco apparently believed that she was the target of a conspiracy centered at the Goleta postal facility, according to writings recovered from her house in New Mexico. A spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department speculated that San Marco's paranoia and history of mental illness may have motivated her to commit the murders.[4]