RALEIGH, N.C. — A teenager was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to the brutal murders of five people during a rampage last year. Austin Thompson, now 18, entered the plea earlier this year, citing a desire to spare victims’ families the pain of a trial.
Thompson was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder, along with attempted murder and multiple assault charges connected to the October 2022 attack. In a heartbreaking scene at the sentencing, family members of the victims shared their harrowing experiences and enduring grief. “We lost both of our children in one afternoon,” said Elise Thompson, Austin’s mother, through tears. She expressed her deep sorrow in a letter presented in court, stating, “My heart is shattered.”
The violence began when Thompson, then just 15, shot his brother, James, in the head with a rifle after the two had returned home from school. After initially surviving the gunshot, James was later stabbed 57 times by his brother. Prosecutors detailed how Austin prepared for the attack, gathering firearms and ammunition, donning camouflage attire, and packing survival supplies into a backpack.
The first victims encountered outside the Thompson home were neighbors Nichole Connors and Lynn Gardner, who were out walking their dogs. Prosecutors described surveillance footage capturing Thompson’s approach as he opened fire. Connors was fatally shot, while Gardner survived but sustained life-altering injuries. “I fell to the ground and saw that I’m lying in a pool of blood,” she recalled in court, highlighting the long-term physical and emotional scars she carries, including severe hearing loss.
In a tragic twist, Thompson targeted Gabriel Torres, a Raleigh police officer, just moments later. Torres was preparing for work when he was shot dead in a driveway. His wife, Jasmin, poignantly recounted the day she lost her husband, describing the horrifying moment she found him bleeding in his vehicle while trying to care for their toddler daughter.
The spree also claimed the lives of Mary Marshall and Susan Karnatz. Marshall was killed while trying to retrieve her dog, while Karnatz was out for a jog. Susan’s husband, Tom, articulated the heartbreak of waiting for a wife who never returned home.
Thompson fled into a wooded area following the killings but was later discovered by law enforcement. As officers closed in on him, he shot himself but miraculously survived. His actions have left a community grappling with profound loss and unanswered questions about the nature of this tragedy.
As the courtroom proceedings concluded, the emotional toll of Thompson’s violent actions remained palpable, casting a long shadow over the families of the victims and the community at large.