Raleigh, NC — Austin Thompson, who was 15 years old when he killed five people in a Raleigh neighborhood in 2022, will spend the rest of his life behind bars with no possibility of parole, a judge decided Friday.
Judge Paul Ridgeway read out the sentencing for each count that Thompson faced — five counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer.
Thompson was sentenced to consecutive sentences of life in prison without the possibility of parole on all five counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to an additional minimum of 157 months for each attempted first-degree murder charge, to be served after the five life sentences. In short, Thompson has no future chance for freedom, no matter how long he lives.
Before Ridgeway carried out his judgments, he recounted the memories and stories told in court by the family of each victim. He then relayed the facts as they were presented in court, and decided that based on the evidence, he could not agree with the defense’s argument that an acne medication contributed to Thompson’s criminal acts.
“The court finds that the theory the defendant was overtaken by dissociation at the time of the murders is belied by other facts and circumstances in the case,” Ridgeway said. “The theory of minocycline is not supported by evidence and rejected by the court.”
Because of his age at the time of the crimes, Thompson was not eligible for the death penalty.
Ridgeway added that after considering the evidence and mitigating circumstances he found that Thompson is the rare juvenile offender whose crimes reflects irreparable corruption.
Ridgeway said Thompson had full knowledge of what he was doing, including prior research and planning, based on the evidence of his search history and the bomb diagram notes found hidden inside a hollowed-out Chapstick tube.
[The evidence] reflects that the defendant, for several months before the murder, fantasized, researched and planned … On the day of the murders, he confirmed his sanity, culpability and lack of regret in a written note. This lengthy period of premeditation and deliberation, paired with malice, are compelling findings that support a conclusion that Austin Thompson is one of the rare juvenile defenders whose crime is irreparable corruption.Judge Paul Ridgeway
As Thompson heard his sentence, family members of the victims yelped in excitement, some crying. He was taken away by officers inside the court to carry the rest of his life in prison.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman spoke outside the courtroom Friday, joining the families of the victims. She said that while this sentencing does not fix the tremendous loss the families and community have endured, it at least “puts this part behind us.”
Freeman continued, “There’s no way that you go through an experience like this with these families without getting to know them very well and getting to know their loved ones well. We walk this path with them from the moment that something horrific like this happens to the final day of when judgment is rendered in these cases.
There’s no question that it is something that we will carry with us the rest of our lives.”
The Department of Adult Corrections said Thompson’s long-term assignment will be based on a diagnostic evaluation. For security reasons, they cannot disclose where he will be placed.
