Seth Stephen Privacky (1980 – July 15, 2010) was an American mass murderer from Muskegon, Michigan. He shot and killed his parents, brother, his brother's girlfriend, and his grandfather on November 29, 1998, at the age of 18. He pled no contest and was convicted of five counts each of first-degree murder and felony firearm charges. A friend was charged with helping Privacky dispose of the weapon and being an accessory to the crime, but was acquitted. Privacky was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was shot and killed during a failed prison escape attempt with two other inmates at Kinross Correctional Facility on July 15, 2010.
Background
At the time of the shooting, Privacky was a senior at Reeths-Puffer High School. His classmates described him as quiet and soft-spoken. His parents described him as a "good kid" in 1997, and court records showed he was a B-average student. However, a family friend stated that Privacky's father believed his son was a psychopath who did not have a conscience and that his mother said he was "out of control". Privacky's mom checked a box in a 1996 court questionnaire claiming that he "sometimes" drank alcohol at 16.
The year before the shooting, in 1997, a court had ordered Privacky to attend counseling and to take the antidepressant Wellbutrin after he was arrested for stealing beer from a store he worked at and selling it to minors, and shoplifting from another store. It was not known if he had been taking the drug in the lead-up to the shooting. He was placed on probation and sentenced to 10 days in a county youth home. He completed probation.
Privacky later claimed, in a 2007 letter from prison, that he started using alcohol and marijuana at age 14, then LSD and amphetamine by the age of 16. He also claimed that he was on LSD at the time of the shooting, and afterwards vomited and had suicidal thoughts after the effects had worn off. Law enforcement officials were skeptical of this claim, as Privacky did not mention using drugs in his interrogation. He also claimed to have sold drugs and been promiscuous throughout high school. Privacky blamed the shooting on the fact he was raised agnostic, after he converted to Christianity in prison.
Security footage showed Privacky attempting to buy .22 caliber ammunition the night before the murders. His purchase was rejected due to his age. Where he obtained the ammunition used in the shooting was not known.
Murders
The murders took place over Thanksgiving weekend; the family was preparing for a delayed holiday dinner. Privacky claimed after the murders that his father threatened to kick him out, and that his father said that his parents no longer loved him. He said that he had been arguing with his father for months. His aunt later said that his car had been taken away after he received a C on his report card, which enraged him. Privacky grabbed his father's .22 Ruger handgun out of the closet and went downstairs, hiding the gun behind his back.
After his father left to pick up his grandfather at 12:45 p.m., Privacky shot his brother in the back of the head while he was watching TV, before dragging his brother's body into the basement. Privacky then waited for his father to return home, before ambushing him and his grandfather in the garage, shooting them both in the back of the head. A detective later said that Privacky "shot his grandfather twice, to make sure he was dead." He then went upstairs and shot his mother, after waiting for her to get out of the shower. His brother's girlfriend April Boss arrived and saw the bodies, leading Privacky to shoot her as she walked into the kitchen. All of the victims were shot once in the head, except for Privacky's grandfather, who was shot twice in the neck.
At 2:00 p.m., Privacky called a friend of his, Steven Clayton Wallace, also 18, to help him clean up the scene, and Wallace arrived half an hour later. They wrapped the bodies in sheets and planned to bury the bodies later. Wallace disposed of the gun and clip in a pond 10 miles away. He then returned a film at Blockbuster, went home, and attended a church youth group. Privacky disposed of the shell casings in a gas station trash can and went to the grocery store to get duct tape. Privacky spent several hours mopping up blood. Wallace returned to Privacky home later that night. The bodies turned out to be too heavy for either man to carry, and they decided to arrange the bodies so that it would look like a robbery.