GOLETA, CA — On January 30, 2006, Jennifer San Marco, a former United States Postal Service employee, walked into her previous workplace in Goleta, California, and opened fire.
Carrying a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, San Marco stalked her victims and shot them in the head, stopping to reload at least once. Before her killing spree was done, San Marco had murdered five people — and then turned the gun on herself and committed suicide.
The victims were Ze Fairchild, 37; Maleka Higgins, 28; Nicola Grant, 42; Guadalupe Swartz, 52; and Dexter Shannon, 57.
A day after the mass shooting, authorities found the body of San Marco’s neighbor, 54-year-old Beverly Graham, in her condominium. Later, another woman who had been wounded in the rampage, 44-year-old Charlotte Colton, passed away at the hospital. This brought the total body count to eight, including San Marco herself.
San Marco, 44, had a history of psychological problems. Prior to getting her job at the post office, she had previously worked as a dispatcher for the Santa Barbara Police Department. For that job, she would have needed to pass an extensive background check and a psychological evaluation.
U.S. Postal Inspector Randy DeGasperin told USA Today that San Marco worked as an entry-level clerk at the facility, but had to be removed by police in 2003 because she was “acting strangely.” San Marco was put on psychological disability, but, according to her supervisors, this was “more for the safety of herself” than because she appeared to present a danger to others.
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