{"id":128934,"date":"2017-11-06T22:54:42","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T03:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=128934"},"modified":"2017-11-06T22:54:42","modified_gmt":"2017-11-07T03:54:42","slug":"sister-walmart-slaying-suspect-heard-voices-after-drug-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/11\/06\/sister-walmart-slaying-suspect-heard-voices-after-drug-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Sister: Walmart slaying suspect heard voices after drug trip"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Authorities<\/a>
Willoughby, wholives in Cocoa Beach, Florida, said she does not know what might have triggered the shooting because she has not been able to speak with Ostrem. (Pixabay photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DENVER — The stepsister of a man charged with fatally shooting three people at a Colorado Walmart said he has been tormented by voices in his head since taking LSD nearly 30 years ago — an event she said radically changed his behaviour and personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen he came home, he was terrified. He had voices in his head. Demons,\u201d Michelle Willoughby told The Denver Post in an interview posted online Monday.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors filed multiple counts of first-degree murder and attempted-murder charges Monday against Scott Ostrem, 47, Willoughby’s stepbrother.<\/p>\n

Ostrem is accused of walking into a Walmart in the Denver suburb of Thornton on Wednesday and fatally shooting a woman and two men. Prosecutors still have not offered any clues into possible reasons for the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan’t talk about a motive yet, thanks,\u201d Adams County District Attorney Dave Young said Monday.<\/p>\n

Willoughby, who lives in Cocoa Beach, Florida, said she does not know what might have triggered the shooting because she has not been able to speak with Ostrem.<\/p>\n

But she said he had been outgoing, sociable and athletic before taking LSD at a party in 1988, and afterward he became a recluse haunted by voices saying the devil was after him.<\/p>\n

The family contacted a hospital, and Ostrem underwent a drug intervention but did not get psychological treatment, she said.<\/p>\n

Ostrem was frequently counselled by a Catholic priest who placed a crucifix on his forehead, commanded demons to leave his body and asked God to silence the voices, Willoughby said.<\/p>\n

She said the priest has since died and she does not recall his name.<\/p>\n

The National Institute on Drug Abuse says the long-term effects of LSD and other hallucinogenic drugs can include mood disturbances, paranoia, disorganized thinking and hallucinations. But such effects are rare, the institute said on its website , and they are more likely to occur in people with a history of psychological problems.<\/p>\n

Charles Grob, a psychiatry professor at UCLA, said it is unlikely that LSD would be the cause of a decadeslong psychosis. It was more likely that Ostrem had \u201csome severe disturbance to begin with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think LSD is the right culprit,\u201d Grob said.<\/p>\n

Willoughby said she is bothered by the way Ostrem has been characterized on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother is not this monster,\u201d she said. \u201cHe is not cold-blooded. He hears these voices. Honestly, in my heart, I believe there is only so much a person can take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willoughby said she is heartbroken for the victims, Pamela Marques, 52, of Denver; Carlos Moreno, 66, of Thornton; and Victor Vasquez, 26, of Denver.<\/p>\n

All were Latino, and Ostrem is white.<\/p>\n

While declining to discuss a potential motive, Young said hate-crime charges have not been ruled out.<\/p>\n

At the court hearing in Adams County District Court, Ostrem sat quietly, occasionally answering \u201cyes\u201d when the judge asked him a question.<\/p>\n

He appeared thin, hunching forward slightly. He wore a yellow- and white-striped jail jumpsuit with \u201cAdams County Jail\u201d in large black letters on the back. His wrists and ankles were shackled.<\/p>\n

Ostrem did not enter a plea. He is being held without bail.<\/p>\n

The murder charges carry a sentence of life without parole or the death penalty. Young has not said whether he will seek the death penalty.<\/p>\n

The attempted-murder charges carry a sentence of eight to 48 years.<\/p>\n

The judge scheduled a Feb. 5 preliminary hearing for prosecutors to lay out their case. The judge will decide if the evidence is sufficient for a trial.<\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

Associated Press writer Nicholas Riccardi and Dan Elliott contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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