Guilty but mentally ill plea accepted for 2021 Scotland killer of three

May 31—TYNDALL, S.D. — A plea of guilty but mentally ill was entered and accepted on May 31, as Francis Lange — the man charged in 2021 with killing three and injuring two — signed a written statement acknowledging his guilt.

The plea agreement will see Lange convicted and sentenced for three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, dropping two lesser counts.

A sentencing hearing has now been set for July 24.

The plea of guilty but mentally ill does not mean his sentences will be commuted — Lange will still face three mandatory life imprisonments, as well as 30 years for each aggravated assault charge — considered Class 3 felonies. It could however mean that Lange may serve his sentence in a psychiatric facility instead of the penitentiary, where he would receive treatment.

Lange will not face the death penalty, after a state decision in February decided that the state would not be pursuing the death penalty in the case of a verdict of guilty.

The plea agreement now comes a year and a half after the November 2021 killings, in which Lange's former girlfriend Angela Monclova, as well as her father Librado Monclova and Diane Akins were killed. Another woman and a 5-year-old child were injured at the Scotland residence where the shooting occurred.

On Wednesday at the Bon Homme County Courthouse, Lange's attorney read a written admission of guilt signed by Lange, describing the details of the shooting.

"He acknowledged that he pointed the fire arm at [Angela Monclova] ... then he fired at Diane [Akins]," read his attorney, as Lange sat motionless. After the recounting, one court official passed a box of tissues to a family member of one of the victims present.

The plea comes after a court-appointed psychiatric evaluation determined Lange to be "suffer[ing] from mental illness and substantial psychiatric disorders of thought," as stated by Dr. Josette Lindhal, the psychiatrist who examined Lange, who testified to the court during the plea hearing. That psychiatric evaluation was approved in May last year, and was conducted in September.

It is not the first time that a plea agreement was sought. In January 2022, Lange's attorneys attempted to obtain psychiatric evaluations for Lange but were denied, citing a misfiling of the request.

That denial and subsequent delay of the evaluation had led to a pause on the state's decision on whether or not the death penalty would be sought. Prosecutors had originally had a February 2022 deadline to file their intent of seeking the death penalty, but were waiting on the determination of the psychiatric evaluation. The evaluation was finished in September 2022, and subsequently, the prosecution released their decision in February 2023, deciding they would not seek the death penalty.

"The death penalty was decided against due to a decision by the previous attorney general," said state attorney general Marty Jackley, in a press conference after the trial, as family members of the victims gathered on the stairs to watch. "I condone the use of the death penalty anytime there is a case that involves young children." Jackley went on to emphasize that the decision was made before his time in office, seeming to imply that he would have decided in favor of the penalty.

"Today's case had a large impact, it touched the lives of many people," Jackley continued. "Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, especially the five year-old. Many thanks go to the paramedics who were the first on the scene, and the officers who handled the case. They are to be commended for the way they handled the events."

Throughout the proceedings, Lange sat facing forward for the entire duration of the trial, largely expressionless, the now-graying whiskers of his beard peeking out unkempt. The only time he spoke was in response to the judge's request for his plea.

"Guilty but mentally ill," came his response — louder after clearing his throat from disuse, responding to each count by affecting the same, practiced cadence.