Richard Wade Farley is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
convicted mass murderer. A former employee of Electromagnetic Systems Labs (ESL) in
Sunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, he
stalkedStalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
co-worker Laura Black for four years beginning in 1984. Black obtained a temporary restraining order against him on February 2, 1988, with a court date set for February 17, 1988 to make the order permanent. On February 16, 1988, Farley shot and killed seven people at ESL and wounded four others, including Black. He was convicted of seven counts of first degree
murderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, and is currently sitting on
death rowDeath row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at
San QuentinSan Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.
Richard Wade Farley is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
convicted mass murderer. A former employee of Electromagnetic Systems Labs (ESL) in
Sunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, he
stalkedStalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
co-worker Laura Black for four years beginning in 1984. Black obtained a temporary restraining order against him on February 2, 1988, with a court date set for February 17, 1988 to make the order permanent. On February 16, 1988, Farley shot and killed seven people at ESL and wounded four others, including Black. He was convicted of seven counts of first degree
murderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, and is currently sitting on
death rowDeath row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at
San QuentinSan Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.
Early life
Richard Farley was born July 25, 1948 in Texas. He was the first of 6 children. His father was in the military, therefore the family moved frequently, but eventually they settled in California. He graduated high school in 1966 and attended Santa Rosa Community College. He then joined the Navy in 1967 where he stayed for 10 years. He joined ESL in 1977.
The stalking of Laura Black
Laura Black was stalked by Richard Farley for four years and wounded in the shooting.
Richard Farley first met Laura Black (who was twenty-three at the time) in April 1984 at a company function. When Black did not accept his advances, Farley began leaving gifts, including cards and home-made bread, on Black's desk. Black later pointed out in an interview that she never went on a date with Farley and said she "never came near him" and "I tried really to ignore him but to be cordial". Despite her refusals, Farley persisted; he began calling her desk every few hours as well as showing up at Black's
aerobicAerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism...
s class. By giving false information to ESL HR department through pretexting, Farley was able to obtain Black's home address and home phone number. Farley was also known to have befriended the custodial department in order to copy Black's desk keys so he could rifle through her belongings in order to gain insight into her life. He is also known to have sifted through confidential personnel files of Black through false pretenses.
At this time, Farley was sending one or two letters to Black per week. Although there were periods of times when the letters would cease, in total Farley sent about two hundred letters over a period of four years, with the last letter sent from his prison cell after his rampage at ESL. Black moved four times during those four years, but each time she did, Farley had managed to locate her address again. Farley also doctored photos of himself being with Black and mailed them to her.
In autumn of 1985, Laura Black asked the Human Resources Department at ESL for help. ESL ordered Farley to attend
psychologicalPsychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
counseling sessions, and although he attended these sessions, his harassment of Black continued. By spring of 1986, Farley was threatening fellow ESL employees. Officially due to his poor work performance ESL to terminated his employment in May 1986 He had been working at ESL for nine years. He spent several months stalking Black full time, then found work at a rival company, Covalent Systems Corp. of Sunnyvale.
Farley set up impossible situations for Black, taking her lack of answer as an affirmative, and any communication, even negative, as encouragement. For example, he called and left a message to set up a date, which she ignored. Since she didn't say no, he showed up at her door in anticipation. When she told him to go away, he took it as proof that she was playing games with him. There was also evidence that Farley tried testing code combinations for hours on a garage door opener trying to open Black's garage. He also once tried to rent the adjoining unit to Black's in the same complex, forcing Black to move away.
Farley continued to write letters to Black in 1987. He wrote in one such letter, "... The shit has hit the fan... all because you thought I'm a joke and refuse to listen or understand that I am gravely serious." By this time, Farley had lost his house due to foreclosure and was under investigation by the IRS for owing taxes. However, his harassment never stopped.
In January 1988, Black found a package on her car windshield. Inside was a note from Farley, with a copy of her house key.
Shooting at ESL
Black filed for a temporary
restraining orderA restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against Richard Farley on February 2, 1988 and it was granted by a family court judge. A court date was set for February 17, 1988 to see if the restraining order should be made permanent.
Farley purchased a shotgun along with various other weapons and equipment. Numerous pistols were also at his disposal along with a total of over 3,000 rounds of extra ammunition. The restraining order did not prevent him from buying weapons during that time. He also owned a variety of other weapons which were not present during the shooting at ESL, including a Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and a Ruger .22LR carbine. On February 9, 1988, he left a package with Black's attorney, claiming to have evidence that he and Black had a longstanding relationship. The package included items such as photographs of Black and defendant on dates, a garage door opener to Black’s house, and hotel and credit card receipts. Farley even claimed that Black kept a secret stash of cocaine that they shared once. Black's attorney dismissed the package as utter fabrications.
One day before the court date, on February 16, 1988, Richard Farley drove his
motorhomeA motorhome is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle or RV which offers living accommodation combined with a vehicle engine. The term motorhome is most commonly used in the UK, US, and Canada.-Features:...
to the ESL parking lot in
Sunnyvale, CaliforniaSunnyvale is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is one of the major cities that make up the Silicon Valley located in the San Francisco Bay Area...
. He later claimed he waited for Black to leave work so he could convince her to rescind the restraining order. If she refused, he would kill himself. At about 3 p.m., Richard Farley loaded up his various guns, including a Benelli semiautomatic shotgun, a .22-250 rifle with a scope, a pump-action shotgun, a Sentinel .22 WMR revolver, a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver, a Browning .380 ACP pistol, and a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol. Along with having a foot-long buck knife and smoke bomb, he put on an ammunition vest, inserted earplugs, and put on a leather glove.
Carrying over 1000 rounds of ammunition with him, he then approached the building while shooting toward bystanders. He entered into a side door by shooting through the glass, and shot at employees he encountered while heading toward Black's office on the second floor. Several employees were killed by his shots as he made his way through his former employer's building. Arriving at Black's office, he opened her door which she slammed in his face. He fired one shot through the door, which missed Black. The second shot hit her left shoulder and sent her unconscious to the floor. Farley moved on.
Farley then held
policeThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
SWAT team at bay for five hours by moving from room to room so the SWAT snipers could not target him. Meanwhile, Black regained consciousness and managed to stop her wound from further bleeding while she and other survivors hid from Farley. Eventually Black and other survivors escaped, and Farley surrendered to police after requesting a sandwich and a soft drink. A total of seven people were killed by Farley with four more wounded, including Black. A total of 98 rounds were fired in ESL by Farley.
The seven victims were Lawrence J. Kane (46 years old) from San Jose, Wayne "Buddy" Williams Jr. (23) from San Jose, Ronald G. Doney (36) from Manteca, Joseph Lawrence Silva (43), Glenda Moritz (27), Ronald Steven Reed (26) and Helen Lamparter (49) from Sunnyvale. The injured were Laura Black, Gregory Scott, Richard Townsley and Patty Marcott.
Aftermath
The next day, court commissioner Lois Kittle made the restraining order against Farley permanent. Commissioner Kittle, through tears, offered this comment: "Pieces of paper do not stop bullets."
Laura Black survived, but was hospitalized for nineteen days. She continued to work for the same company. Farley wrote to her again from his prison cell, claiming that she had finally won.
During trial, Farley admitted to the killings, but pleaded "not guilty", claiming that he never planned to kill but only wished to get Black's attention or commit suicide in front of her for rejecting him. His attorney claimed that Farley never was a violent man and only had his judgment temporarily clouded by his obsession with Laura Black, and that Farley would likely never kill again.
The prosecution documented every step of the stalking, produced all the letters he sent, and documented his shotgun and
ammunitionAmmunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
purchases a week before his rampage at ESL, as well as his other weapons. All this amounted to extensive planning, which was evidence of premeditation.
On October 21, 1991, Farley was convicted of all seven counts of first degree murder. Superior Court Judge Joseph Biafore Jr. sentenced Farley to death. Due to California law, there are several automatic appeals. As of 2011, Farley is still serving his time in San Quentin Prison. Prior to the shooting, Farley had no
criminal recordA criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history, generally used by potential employers, lenders etc. to assess his or her trustworthiness. The information included in a criminal record varies between countries and even between jurisdictions within a country...
.
On July 2, 2009 the California Supreme Court upheld Farley's death sentence (
People v
Farley (2009) 46 Cal.4th 1053).
In the wake of this case and the high profile murder of actress
Rebecca SchaefferRebecca Lucile Schaeffer was an American actress best known for her role in the sitcom My Sister Sam...
, California passed the first anti-stalking laws in the nation.
Adaptations
A movie,
I Can Make You Love MeI Can Make You Love Me, also known as Stalking Laura, is a made-for-television film starring Richard Thomas and Brooke Shields. The film is based on the real-life story of American mass murderer Richard Farley, a former employee of ESL Incorporated whose romantic obsession and subsequent stalking...
(also known as
Stalking of Laura Black in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) was made in 1993.
Brooke ShieldsBrooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
played Laura Black and
Richard ThomasRichard Earl Thomas is an American actor, best known for his role as budding author John-Boy Walton in the CBS drama The Waltons.- Early life :Thomas was born Richard Earl Thomas in New York,...
played Richard Farley.
The shooting incident is also the subject of a chapter of the book
Chinese Playground: A Memoir by
Bill LeeBill Lee is a Chinese American and a former member of the San Francisco Chinatown gang that was responsible for the 1977 Golden Dragon Massacre....
, as well as a chapter in
ObsessionObsession is a non-fiction book written by John E. Douglas and Mark Olshaker about the psyches of serial killers, serial rapists, stalkers, and their victims, as well as how to fight back....
by
John DouglasJohn Edward Douglas , is a former special agent with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation , one of the first criminal profilers, and criminal psychology author.-Early life:...
and Mark Olshaker.
External links