Police believe they have razor blade suspect

Suzie Harrison

Laguna Beach residents, as well as others throughout South County, may

be able to breath a sigh of relief with the arrest of 21-year-old Lori

Elizabeth Fischer.

The Mission Viejo woman, is alleged to have planted razor blades,

nails and other sharp objects under swings and slides, on playgrounds as

well as buried them in the ground with the edges up in the sand at 10

local parks, including Main Beach in Laguna.

She is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon and also child

endangerment, which are both felonies. The counts can change depending on

the number of counts charged against her. The first incident was reported

at Main Beach on April 27.

Fischer, who may suffer from multiple personalities, allegedly

contacted the Laguna Beach Police Department through an anonymous call

warning that some of her friends told her that they were headed to Main

Beach to do something to “hurt people.”

Later that week, the second incident occurred in Laguna Niguel where

the authorities pleaded through the press to have the anonymous caller

contact them.

“She called us the very next day and spoke to one of the

investigators, saying that she heard on the news that she wanted to be

spoken to again,” Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jason Kravetz said.

She claimed to know more about the case but gave a false name and

alleged someone else was involved.

Through investigation and interviews the police came up with the name

Lori Fischer.

“We interviewed Lori Fischer in the early part of May and about a week

after that she became the focus of our investigation,” Sgt. Kravetz said.

During her interview, Fischer told the authorities she was going to

try to obtain information for them, that’s when the investigation turned

to her.

Authorities started surveillance of Fischer and obtained a warrant to

search her home, office and car.

Although they had interviewed her many times prior they didn’t have

enough evidence to arrest her, until she was caught by the sheriff’s

department investigative team at a location she had tipped off to the

police just after midnight on June 4.

The authorities also believe Fischer is the same person who wrote a

letter and placed four copies of it in various locations at the Main

Beach playground. Laguna Beach was the only place where the letters were

found.

“They were all the same letter, typed with a nail driven through it,

including park benches on Main Beach,” Kravetz said.

Police searched Fischer’s home and found journals with poems and other

writing about the incidents along with newspaper clippings.

“Her mind-set was vindictive and laughing at children with morbid

poetry. She did her own copyright on them. They were all macabre about

kids being hurt and things like that,” said Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Sewell.

Her journal entries were signed with names other than her own, police

said.

At the Vista del Lago Park in Laguna Niguel, where Fischer was

arrested, the authorities said there was a standoff prior to arrest.

“She sat in her car for a half an hour and wouldn’t get out of her car

or cooperate so the police had to break both rear windows of her silver

2001 Toyota Corolla,” Sgt. Sewell said. “She was screaming, panicked and

afraid.”

Fischer was being held on $500,00 bail and was arraigned in the Orange

County District Court Thursday.