True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

As you may know, I covered another mass shooting case (carried out by a female perpetrator: Jennifer San Marco) last week here on my blog but another case was brought to my attention by a subscriber which I think may be of interest. 

This case which I'm going to be sharing with you in this post is another tragic event that took place in the USA (Manchester, Connecticut to be precise) and is the deadliest workplace shooting in Connecticut history. (and the second deadliest shooting in the state after Sandy Hook). I'm talking about the horrific events that unfolded at Hartford Distributors (a popular and successful wholesale distributor of wine and Budweiser beer) on the morning of Tuesday the 3rd of August 2010. 

In this day and age it's hard to find companies who do not have a high staff turn over but Hartford Distributors was different, the company was founded in 1944 and was later purchased and taken over by the Hollander family in the 1960s. The company treated their staff like family and not just a team of employees. When you went to Hartford Distributors and you did your job to the best of your ability, that effort was rewarded and you basically had a job for the long haul. 

Back in 2010 before the 3rd of August, if you had walked into Hartford Distributors you would have seen quite a number of staff of all ages but quite a lot of older members of the team who had worked there for 20 to 30 years. Everybody knew each other, everybody knew each others families, it was like a very close knit community and it wasn't unusual for employees to work there right up to their retirement. There was a great relationship between the staff and the Hollander family which remains to this day and even more so since the horrific events of August 2010. 

I wanted to start first of all just talking a little bit about the company just to give you a flavour of the kind of place it is and was before I move into more of the story. So you know it was a respectful place with committed employees who treated their staff fairly and was a successful wholesaler of Budweiser products, so let's move on to the rest of the story. 

The picture you see at the beginning of this post is a sinister, chilling one if you know the story behind it. On the surface it looks like a man in his place of employment just about to take his lunch break or go somewhere. The reality is, the individual in the capture from a CCTV camera is 34 year old Omar Thornton, carrying a lunch bag with loaded weapons with an intent to murder his boss and fellow colleagues at Hartford Distributors. 

At 34, Omar was considered one of the younger members of the team and also still the new guy. He'd been a driver at the company for 2 years so to the people who'd been there for decades he was still seen as a young pup but wasn't treated any differently (according to staff and witnesses who were not related to Omar. His girlfriend, family and Omar himself would say differently but I will talk more about this later). 

Omar didn't have any children but he was involved in a long term relationship with a woman named Kristi Hannah. To those that knew him, he was described as an easy-going guy, quite quiet and had a number of money problems but no real scandals or previous trouble with the law except for the usual parking tickets and fines. 

In the 2 years leading up to the 3rd of August 2010, Omar had often complained to his girlfriend and family about work. According to him, some of the staff and especially the management were a bunch of racists especially towards himself and he claimed to be the only African-American working at the company. The majority of the staff at Hartford Distributors were white male.

Omar had allegedly shown his girlfriend pictures of racist graffiti that had been drawn in the male toilets at work as well as a disturbing drawing of a black man being hung in ref to Lynching. His girlfriend also claimed that she had been on the phone with him one day when he held the phone up for her to hear some of the management staff making racists comments and laughing. 

Despite Omar's allegations of racism in the workplace, he never reported these incidences or took the matter further. Those of us who have been bullied or singled out in our place of employment can understand maybe why he didn't come forward and say something if these incidences did indeed happen. He could have stayed quiet because he was scared of losing his job? maybe he felt intimidated because his colleagues were older than him? Who knows? but his family and girlfriend claim that he was very unhappy and often spoke of being singled out at work. 

Although Omar was unhappy in his job and claimed there was racism, he continued to work there and continued to help himself to cases of Budweiser which he either drank himself or sold to other people outside of work. The staff at Hartford Distributors soon caught on to this and decided to investigate Omar to see where all the missing beer was going, there was also missing beer kegs too. 

So a quiet investigation into Omar's conduct at work was launched and sure as fate, he was caught on camera for all to see, stealing cases of Budwesier beer. 

I just want to make clear here that just because someone has been engaging in theft in the workplace it doesn't mean that they have not been the victim of racism, however it does show that they are dishonest and have the capability to try and cover their tracks. I have no doubt that if the situation had been different and no CCTV footage had been recorded of Omar actively stealing, he would have claimed that the company had made the whole thing up because they were racists. With the proof of the theft on tape, he didn't have a leg to stand on. 

Omar knew the net was closing in and his days were numbered in his role at Hartford Distributors. When he got the notification that he was to attend a private meeting 7am on Tuesday morning (3rd of August 2010), he knew the game was up. Instead of packing his usual sandwiches in his lunch bag, he put in 2 Ruger SR9s and headed off to work. It's unclear whether he was giving the company some sort of ultimatum, ie: if you fire me I'll kill you or if you don't fire me the guns will stay in the bag? who knows?

What we do know is that Omar, dressed in shorts and a Rocky shirt attended this small meeting which lasted 30 minutes with his boss and some other people which included the grandson of the company's owner, Steve Hollander (50) along with HDI Drivers rep Bryan Cirigliano (51).

Omar was shown the footage of him stealing the beer and was quiet, he didn't deny the allegations or attempt to fight his corner, he seemed to be quiet, unemotional and unbothered. Finally, he was given the option to resign or to be fired. He chose to resign and signed the papers. After Omar put down the pen, there was no outburst, no expression of anger he just turned his back saying he was going to get some water and in a blink of an eye, he pulled out one of the guns and started firing. He shot dead two of the people nearest to him (a stray bullet injured Steve Hollander, he was injured but survived) before making is way out of the office. 

Calmly and collectively he made his way around the building and into the warehouse just shooting at people, some were shot at point blank range to the head. He did this with no expression, no words, almost like a robot. He was shooting indiscriminately still carrying his lunch bag and when one gun ran out of ammo he threw it on the floor and started using the other one. One witness saw him chasing a female member of staff and trying to shoot her. Anyone and anything that moved seemed to be a target for Omar Thornton in that moment. 

 He even went out into the parking lot after people before returning back inside the building to continue the rampage. The whole ordeal lasted just minutes but seemed like hours. 

Finally for whatever reason he decided to stop shooting and managed to find an empty office in the building where he locked himself in and made a phone call to his mother. He told her he loved her and that he ''shot the racists''

The final phone call he made was to 911, again there was no tears, no sense of guilt and he spoke again of how badly he had been treated and the alleged racism but spoke nothing of being caught stealing. It seemed that even though he was moments from his own death, he was still making excuses and trying to paint himself in a certain light. 

He refused to come out of the office and said ''I wish I could have killed more people'' 

Omar Thornton took his own life in that office and eventually police officers found him and the other employees who were hiding elsewhere in the building along with the people who had been murdered. 

Two people (one of them being Steve Hollander) were rushed to hospital but luckily they survived, 8 people sadly died. 

Up until 2012 when the horrific events of Sandy Hook occurred, this horrific case was the deadliest shooting to have occurred in the state of Connecticut. 

After the shootings the families of both the victims and Omar Thornton spoke out publicly about what they believed were Omar's motive for the murders. The victim's families made it clear that their loved ones were in no way. shape or form racists but Omar's family had a different take on things, they felt that Omar had been a good guy pushed to the edge. 

Not long after the murders, Omar's mother set up a website in tribute to her son and asked for donations to help fight racism in the workplace. When this caused shock and outrage, she couldn't understand why the victims families and survivors were upset. Her view was that Omar was her ''baby'' and that she should be able to pay tribute to her son any way that she wanted. 

The website was soon reported, investigated and removed. 

A memorial was created in tribute to the victims on the Hartford Distribution site. 8 Stainless steel pillars dedicated to each of the victims and dedicated workers now stand as a place for loved ones and friends to pay their respects. At the top of each pillar is a secret compartment that has been sealed shut. These compartments were for loved ones to leave little letters, gifts or whatever they wanted for their loved one before being permanently closed. 

Memorial services in Connecticut occur every 3rd of August and last year marked 11 years since the shootings, a day that so many could never forget.

 So what was the real reason for Omar Thornton's crimes? Was he really pushed to the edge after enduring racism or was he just making excuses because he knew the company had caught on to him stealing? He shot people he had no problems with and was even seen chasing a woman. Anybody seemed to be a target and if things were so bad at work why didn't he leave or take the matter further? If he did have the evidence of racist abuse (if we are to believe his girlfriend and family) why didn't he go to an employment lawyer and put a claim in? If what he alleged was proven he could have been awarded damages. None of this was put any further. 

As for his mother, girlfriend and family, nobody wants to accept and believe that their loved one is a cold blooded killer. Omar planned the killings, he came to work with guns, he shot people close up and carried on and on without a care. All he cared about was himself and clearly expressed that on the phone to the 911 operator. 

He killed fathers and grandfathers that day, so many families were devastated. A thorough investigation into the allegations of racism was conducted. Other employees from all different backgrounds were privately interviewed in confidence and no evidence of racism was found. It also seems ridiculous that a company who he claimed was racist would hire him and other people from different backgrounds if things were as he claimed they were. Maybe Omar made the whole thing up because he didn't want his family to know that he was stealing from work? 

Whatever the case people will have their own thoughts about this (comments welcomed below). No decent minded person condones racism of any kind especially in a working environment but the fact remains that Omar was proven to be stealing and was fired on that reason. He may have been a nice, quiet guy in the past and the bills may have mounted up causing him to become depressed and desperate but stealing from work and then going on to murder your colleagues is unbelievable and evil. 

I'd like to take a moment to remember the victims, the hardworking men of Hartford Distributors, the survivors and their families.

Francis Fazio Jr (57)

Douglas Scruton (56)

Edwin Kennison (49)

William Ackerman (51)

Bryan Cirigliano (51)

Craig Peppin (60)

Louis Felder (50)

Victor James (61)

May they rest in peace. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Omar Thornton: Article | CBS News

- Hartford Distribution Shooting| Article | New York Times

- Omar Thornton: Article | ABC News

- Omar Thornton: Article | The Hartford Courant

- Hartford Distribution: Article | Capital Gazette

- Hartford Distribution Shooting | Wikipedia

- Sandy Hook School Shooting | Wikipedia

- USA Mass Shootings Stats 1982 - 2021

- Manchester Police Report On HDI Shootings

- Hartford Dirstribution Shootings | 911 Calls (Graphic)

Thank you to Shilo for requesting this case and thank you for checking out my latest post. I hope you will join me in the next one and I hope to see you elsewhere on my socials x

A smile can be so deceiving, don't you agree? The picture above looks like a nice, friendly woman in her 40s, probably someone's mother? how wrong can we be sometimes when we look at someone and think that they could never be capable of carrying out mass murder. Oh yes, the lady in the picture before you is an American mass-murderer and her name is and was Jennifer San Marco. 

As you know, I have covered various cases on this blog but this is the first time I have written about a female mass murderer who, to coin the term 'went postal' at her former place of employment. 

So let me tell you more about this case with a little bit of background first...

Jennifer came into this world on the 6th of December 1961 full of promise, she was born in New York and attended the same school in Brooklyn as Adam Yauch (better known as a member of the world famous Beastie Boys) and actress Marisa Tomei. Jennifer was shy and kept herself to herself and was described as a friendly girl but little was known about her home life. As she blossomed into a teenager and attended college and University, all seemed to be fairly normal, no traumatic incidences or strange behaviour, no red flags popped up anywhere, she seemed to have the world at her feet but she dropped out of University and didn't graduate for unknown reasons (but you will see as you continue reading that this was the beginning of a pattern for Jennifer).  

Through her 20s and 30s, Jennifer had undertaken a variety of different jobs from working as a guard at a medium security prison to working as a police dispatcher (I just want to include here that Jennifer had undertaken various psychological examinations for these roles and passed with flying colours) and everything in between. There was a constant pattern emerging of her quitting jobs for unknown reasons but nothing too dramatic. She finally found a job where she stayed for quite a while (6 years) as an employee and this was a postal clerk position. For some reason this seemed to be the role that she had stuck at until things started to take a sinister turn. 

Jennifer's behaviour in and outside of work was beginning to raise a lot of eyebrows and in the case of her neighbour, Beverly Graham, it caused a number of heated arguments. Jennifer was not drinking or taking drugs but her behaviour was spiralling out of control and it seemed to have come out of nowhere. She would stand in front of her neighbour Beverly's house and sing and shout at all hours of the night. Nobody knew why she was doing this but Beverly was sick and tired of it and the two women did not get on in the slightest. 

Her colleagues at the postal plant in Goleta, California were getting fed up of her antics at work too. She would often be seen talking and arguing with herself and she would mumble racist remarks under her breath, it was creating a terrible atmosphere at work but everyone just tried their best to ignore it until one day she completely flipped out and hid underneath one of the machines. 

The whole scene was that chaotic with Jennifer shouting and acting like a woman possessed that her colleagues were too scared to be near her and the police had to be called. When the police arrived they had a hard time trying to get her to come with them with legs and arms flying all about the place, there was only one place to take her and that was to the nearest psychiatric hospital. 

Jennifer spent three days there and was soon released and spent some time on sick leave from work before returning several months later. However, when she returned it was as if she had gotten worse, not only did she look very unkempt but she was even more aggressive and the ranting and raving continued, the managers themselves had to escort her off of the premises and she was told never to return. The postal company decided it would be best to retire her early due to her declining mental health. Jennifer was very bitter about the whole situation because to her she had done nothing wrong, she was convinced that everyone was against her. 

What she was going through sounded a lot like Paranoid Schizophrenia however I cannot find any public record of her ever being formally diagnosed with this or what her psychological diagnoses was. She had the ability to manipulate those around her. There would also be moments when she could hold a normal conversation and then the next minute she would be rambling and indulging in strange behaviour. 

After being retired from her role at the postal facility, she moved to New Mexico. One would hope that this would have been a fresh start for Jennifer but she continued to decline. She would bounce from having ideas of having her own business to kneeling at the side of the road praying. She tried to register for a publication which was viewed as racist as well as becoming obsessed with launching her own car food company. When these two ventures didn't materialise she sank deeper into madness and paranoia and became fixated on the past. 

Jennifer (44) was an injustice collector and with so much time on her hands there was nothing else left to do but sit and stew on those she thought had wronged her over the years. 

Her behaviour in New Mexico continued to be bizarre, she would often spit in public, would be seen praying and mumbling to herself and once went to a gas station and took all of her clothes off. She would also sit and stare at people, She made a lot of people feel uncomfortable and her appearance was very off-putting with clumps of her hair missing as she had cut it herself and her clothes were dirty. She was seen one day, praying at her car and when a passer-by asked if she was ok, she replied ''They pray before they go in''. 

Jennifer would spend hours in her New Mexico home rambling and writing endless notes that were later found by investigators. She became convinced that her former colleagues at the post facility, her old neighbour Beverly, the police department and one of the psychiatric facilities she had been attending, were all working together in a plot to ruin her life. She obsessed over this and that obsession soon became a determination, a determination that they would all pay for what she thought they had done to her. 

So she set about planning her act of revenge and went to two different pawn shops in New Mexico, one to purchase the gun and the other to purchase ammunition. For the gun she had to fill in an application form and the whole process took about two days before she was able to collect the gun. Surprisingly, she was able to get through the application process fine, one can only assume that she had given false information. 

She now had her plan and her weapon and on the night of the 30th of January 2006, she got into her car and the first person who was going to pay the price in her mind, was Beverly Graham. The two women had not seen each other in a long time but Jennifer had been storing up all this anger inside for quite some time. 

I'm sure we've all had neighbours we didn't get along with or jobs that we hated or were fired from, but those of us with a healthier state of mind move on, Jennifer could not. She shot and killed Beverly Graham that night. The neighbours later told police that they heard the shots ring out between 7:15 pm and 8:15 pm. 

As soon as she had killed 54 year old Beverly she got right back into her car and made her way to the postal facility. The number of people who actually worked in that building was approximately 300 but on this particular night only 80 were on that shift. 

Knowing that there was no way she would be able gain access so easily, she followed on the tail of another vehicle through the company gates. Without missing a beat she jumped out of the car and threatened an employee at gunpoint for their ID badge. 

As soon as she got the ID she let the terrified person go and continued on with her planned rampage. Once inside she shot six people, one person was just barely hanging onto life and actually died later in hospital. When the other employees heard the gunshots they ran out to the street and across the way to the local fire station. 

Eventually Jennifer San Marco turned the gun on herself.

As to her motive for this horrendous murder spree, people have their theories. Some believe she was simply ill, paranoid and believed that people were out to get her. Others believe that she was motivated purely by racism. Jennifer was white and her victims at the facility were all, as the police said 'minorities'. Three of the victims were African-American, One was Filipino, another was Hispanic and one was Chinese-American. 

With the 6 victims at the postal facility, the ex-neighbour Beverly who was murdered and then Jennifer herself, that brought the total to eight people who lost their lives that dark January night back in 2006 and what for? Theories remain as to why she did it, people could blame the authorities for not seeing the red flags quicker, they could blame the police, fingers could point in all directions but the fact remains, Jennifer San Marco was a cold blooded killer and she was mentally ill.

People say there was no signs in her childhood as to what was to come but was that really the case or did they turn a blind eye to certain things? We will never know. Some people believe she was totally fine but had a breakdown or had a knock to the head that changed her. We do know that she drifted from job to job and had a habit of walking out of them.

This horrible case has gone down in American history as one of the deadliest mass shootings. It brings my memory back to a case I covered in 2019, the James Huberty case otherwise known as The McDonald's Massacre. Here was another individual who had mental illness and went on a mass shooting at a McDonald's restaurant, which has also been included in that horrifying list of America's deadliest mass murders. 

2006 doesn't feel that long ago and if you think about it, it actually isn't, for this to have happened at a time when we thought that we were getting tougher with gun applications, security and had made some improvements with mental health support, it is very frightening. 

I'm thinking of the victims and their families, all those people did was go into work that night to try and make some money to pay bills and put food on the table for their children, their families, they didn't deserve what happened to them and neither did Barbara. 

May we pause to think of them...

Barbara Graham (54)

Ze Fairchild (37)

Maleka Higgins (28)

Nicola Grant (42)

Guadalupe Swartz (52)

Dexter Shannon (57)

Charlotte Colton (44)