A San Diego man who sent a threatening email to a member of the LGBTQ community in the wake of a hate-related murder that happened near the victim’s home was sentenced Monday to six months in prison, plus four months of home confinement.
George Joseph Wellinger II, 49, messaged threats to the victim after she appeared in a TV news report regarding a 2023 hate-crime murder in Lake Arrowhead, in which a local business owner was fatally shot for displaying a Pride flag in front of her business.
In an email sent about two weeks after the murder, Wellinger called the victim “another alphabet clown that wants to take a dirt nap, too.” He also wrote, “We know what you look like and know where are you are … only a matter of time …”
A grand jury indictment returned against Wellinger also states that in the email, he sent the victim a link to a news article referencing the 2023 murder.
Prosecutors wrote in court documents that the victim “lived in fear” after receiving the email, began experiencing panic attacks and changed her daily routine in response to the threats.
Wellinger pleaded guilty earlier this year to a count of transmitting a threatening communication.
Wellinger’s defense attorney, Stefano Molea, wrote in a sentencing memorandum that at the time of the offense, his client was suffering from “deep and persistent loneliness” and “lacked a sense of belonging, of community.”
Molea wrote that Wellinger had undertaken unhealthy coping behaviors and “the result was anger and frustration towards a total stranger because she showed support for her community, a community that Mr. Wellinger lacked.”
In an apology letter penned to the victim, Wellinger wrote, “My actions were extremely harmful, completely disrespectful, and despicable” and said what the victim experienced was “something no one should have to endure.”
He wrote that he’s since started addressing his issues and said, “What I have realized is that it was my loneliness and lack of community at the time that made me angry towards yours. Again, I am truly sorry and sincerely regret the hurt I have caused.”
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