Bond increased ten-fold after William 'Lilly' Whitworth reiterates desire to carry out mass shootings

Here's the latest on 19-year-old's failed plot to shoot up middle school

A 19-year-old Elbert County resident who was arrested for allegedly making plans to carry out attacks against three schools and at least one church reportedly promised last week to carry out those threats if released from jail.   

A staff member at the Elbert County Jail notified the Elbert County Sheriff's Office on April 10 that William "Lilly" Whitworth indicated the original plans would be carried out if Whitworth was able to bond out, according to a press release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office. 

Whitworth was arrested March 31. Judge Palmer Boyette set Whitworth's bond that day at $75,000. 

Tuesday, the day after the jail staffer's report, Judge Boyette granted the DA's Office's request to increase Whitworth's bond. Boyette increased it to three quarters of a million dollars, ten times the original amount. 

The judge also modified a mandatory protection order to include GPS monitoring and no contact with any public or private school property/institution in the State of Colorado, the DA's office stated.

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Whitworth, born William in 2004 but identifying now as Lilly, was jailed after a family member called police to their home on March 31. The relative told investigators that Whitworth had punched holes in the walls of the home and made references to conducting a deadly mass shooting at three schools - an elementary, middle school and high school in the District 20 school district - for two consecutive days. 

William "Lilly" Whitworth 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office

Whitworth, according to the arrest affidavit in the case, acknowledged the plans to investigators. Whitworth also directed investigators to a some items in the home in reference to those plans. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found two notebooks containing drawings of the schools' floor plans, a detonation device, the names of previous mass shooters, a list of firearms and instructions for 3D printing them, and lists of people to be killed. They also found a dry erase board in the home which displayed school floor plans. 

That day, Whitworth also appeared "very drowsy" to investigators, had trouble staying awake, and admitted to being intoxicated, according to the affidavit. 

After a formal interview, Whitworth was jailed on five charges: 

  • 2 felony counts of Criminal Attempt to Commit 1st Degree Murder
  • 1 felony count of Criminal Mischief
  • misdemeanor Menacing
  • Interference with Staff, Faculty, or Students of Educational Institutions, also a misdemeanor.  

Whitworth is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Elbert County court on May 3. 

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