A transgender Colorado teen who admitted to planning mass shootings against at least three schools (and who had written a chilling manifesto praising infamous killers) has been sentenced to six years in prison.
Lilly Whitworth, 19, born William, learned her fate in an Elbert County court on Tuesday. She was granted 306 days credit for time served from the time of her arrest in March 2023.
Given Whitworth’s transgender status, it was not immediately clear whether she would be sent to a women’s prison or a men’s facility.
A spokesperson for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the case, told The Post on Wednesday that it is not involved in determining the defendant’s place of incarceration.
The Post contacted the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) for comment.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Whitworth was not listed as a DOC inmate in the department’s online database.
Lilly Whitworth, 19, a transgender woman from Colorado, has been sentenced to six years in prison for plotting school shootings last year. Elbert County Sheriff Whitworth admitted to planning to carry out a mass shooting at Timberview High School, which she had previously attended. Timberview High School / Facebook
Whitworth was arrested after her family made a collective decision to hold her “accountable for her actions,” the teen’s mother, Melissa Whitworth-Mathes, told The Post last year.
Whitworth’s sister called police on March 31 and told the operator that the teen was punching holes in the wall and had threatened to shoot up a school.
Police discovered diaries written by Whitworth, which included a list of firearms and instructions on how to 3D print them, information about bomb-making and a list of people to kill, according to an affidavit obtained by The Post.
Whitworth admitted to an officer that he planned to carry out a mass shooting at Timberview High School in the Colorado Springs area, which he had previously attended, without “any specific reason.”
Other potential targets mentioned in their notebooks or in text messages included Prairie Hills Elementary School and Pine Creek Middle School, along with churches and government buildings.
Whitworth, second from left, was arrested in March 2023 after her family called police.
Police discovered plans of the schools in Whitworth newspapers and on a blackboard.
A four-page manifesto containing words of praise for serial killer Ed Kemper and Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza was also recovered.
When asked how close Whitworth had come to carrying out a mass shooting, he was quoted as telling police he was “about a third of the way to doing it.”
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Whitworth was initially charged with attempted murder, criminal mischief and menacing, but in November 2023 she pleaded guilty to a single count of second-degree assault.
The rest of the charges against Whitworth were dropped as part of the plea agreement.
The teen’s defense attorneys argued that she should be spared prison time and instead be given probation and sent to a community corrections program to help her deal with her alleged mental health issues, which they claimed , had led her to plan mass shootings. KKTV reported.
Whitworth was quoted as telling an officer that she wanted to attack her old school for “no specific reason.” Timberview Middle School / Facebook Police found among Whitworth’s writings references to a plan to shoot up Pine Creek High School. Pine Creek High School / Facebook
“I’m so sorry,” Whitworth said in court earlier this month. “I thank God that I came out. You become addicted to pain, depression and isolation.”
“I was in too deep, too deep,” she added. “I regret the decisions I have made.”
Judge Theresa Slade rejected defense attorneys’ pleas for leniency and ruled that a prison sentence was the only way to “ensure a sense of safety” in the community, the Denver Gazette reported.
“This had a pretty big impact on the community,” he said of Whitworth’s murderous plans. “People were hurt, they were afraid.”
Mom Melissa Whitworth-Mathes, second from left, with Lilly (center).
Prosecutor Eva Wilson, who asked for a 10-year prison sentence for Whitworth, citing the detailed plans he had laid out in his diaries to carry out massacres, welcomed the judge’s ruling.
“I think the Department of Corrections’ sentencing is absolutely supported by all the evidence, all the planning and the impact on the victims,” Wilson said after the sentencing. “I think anything less… would simply not be appropriate, considering the magnitude of the planning and efforts put into it.”
Eric Ross, media relations director for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, told The Post that while it wasn’t “the exact sentence” prosecutors were looking for, they are grateful the judge denied Whitworth parole. .
“We are still satisfied and respect the judge’s decision,” he said.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn