Lethal Passage_ The Story of a Gun - Erik Larson [115]
WF-SE William Farley vs. SNUG Enterprises (t/a Guns Unlimited). Circuit Court, Virginia Beach, Virginia, CL 89–2047. Page numbers refer to locations in transcripts commissioned by author. Testimony with no page citation means I culled the testimony from a videotape of the trial made by Court TV in New York.
Chapter One: Introduction
1 On a bitter, cold … Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, March 1, 1989, A1.
2 A single homicide … Here I refer to Patrick Purdy’s January 17, 1989, assault on a school in Stockton, California, which killed five children, and James Oliver Huberty’s attack on a McDonald’s restaurant, which left twenty-one people dead.
3 I acquired … License, form 8. ATF.
4 I discovered … “Putting Guns Back Into Criminals’ Hands.” Violence Policy Center, 1992.
5 I learned too … “Accidental Shootings: Many Deaths and Injuries Caused by Firearms Could Be Prevented,” GAO, March 1991; “Compilation of Statutes Administered by CPSC.” U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, April 1992.
6 One evening … Georgia Sport Shooting Association, American Legion Hall, Smyrna, Georgia, November 21, 1992.
Chapter Two: Nicholas
1 Virginia Beach alone … Printout of Virginia and Maryland Federal Firearms Licensees. ATF, May 12, 1992.
2 The Atlantic Shores Baptist … George Sweet, interview.
3 The church school … Richmond Times Dispatch, December 18, 1988, 1.
4 As of December 16 … Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, correction, April 21, 1989.
5 “As far as I know …” George Sweet, interview.
6 He had dyslexia … Complaint. EE-ASC.
7 A Virginia Beach psychiatrist … Judge’s notes. VA-NE.
8 Another psychiatrist … Sentencing hearing. VA-NE, December 12, 1989, 18.
9 He told Det. Donald Adams … NES, 8.
10 “Like fire …” George Sweet, interview.
11 Billy would call … (Billy Cutter), testimony. VA-NE, February 28, 1989, 105, 107, 114.
12 At six foot one … Ibid., 106.
13 “There was some slapping …” Duncan Wallace, testimony. VA-NE, December 12, 1989, 16.
14 Dr. Wallace found … Ibid., 12.
15 As Nicholas left … (Billy Cutter). VA-NE, 112.
16 “I can’t take …” NES, 44–45.
17 At lunch … William Farley, interview.
18 His locker … Det. Donald Adams, interview.
19 One told … Norfolk Ledger-Star, December 18, 1988, 1.
20 Even the guns … NES, 42.
21 His mother worried … NES, 43–44.
22 When she arrived … NES, 2.
23 His mother, during … Estelle Elliot, sentencing hearing. VA-NE, 6.
24 In California … Duncan Wallace. Ibid., 17.
25 On arriving … Estelle Elliot. Ibid., 10, 11.
26 “The public schools …” Ibid., 7.
27 “She said something …” NES, 20.
28 “I’ve heard …” NES, 21.
29 When Adams asked … NES, 63.
30 This was clearly evident … Karen Farley, videotape.
31 The morning of December 16 … William Farley, interview.
32 She had begun … Ibid.
33 “Do you think …” Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, December 10, 1988, D1.
Chapter Three: The Lethal Landscape
1 “I know several …” Anthony Cobb, letter to author, February 2, 1993.
2 Over the last … The statistics in this paragraph may be found in: American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, AAP NEWS (January 1992): 22; Garen Wintemute, “Firearms as a Cause of Death in the United States, 1920–1982,” The Journal of Trauma 27:5 (May 1987): 532; Los Angeles Times, May 17, 1992, 1; Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report (July 1990).
3 A relatively new … Gary J. Ordog, et al., “Gunshot Wounds in Children Under 10 Years of Age,” American Journal of Diseases of Children 142 (June 1988): 618–22.
4 No one knows … American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, 20.
5 The story is less … Michael Pertschuk, interview.
6 Over the most … “Civilian Firearms: Domestic Production, Importation, Exportation and Availability for Sale, 1899–1989,” ATF.
7 As of 1989 … Ibid.
8 One study of … American Academy of Pediatrics, Policy Statement, 20.
9 A July 1993 poll … Louis Harris, “A Survey of Experiences,