Slayer of Seven Is Sent Back to Atascadero : Treatment: Ex-janitor who shot nine people at CSUF in 1976 is found ‘not appropriate’ for Napa State Hospital.

A Cal State Fullerton janitor who went berserk in 1976, shooting nine people and killing seven in Orange County’s worst mass slaying, has been returned to the state’s maximum-security mental hospital, officials said Wednesday.

Edward Charles Allaway, 54, was sent back to Atascadero State Hospital after an evaluation found he was not an “appropriate candidate” for treatment at Napa State Hospital, a lower-security facility for individuals making the transfer back into society, officials said.

Allaway’s move to Napa State Hospital in July sparked an outcry among relatives of his victims. Some of them said Wednesday that they are pleased that he is back at Atascadero but still fear that Allaway will someday be released.

“I’m happy when anything keeps him where he belongs--in the hospital,” said Ernest Becker of Fullerton, whose son Stephen was one of Allaway’s victims. “But I’m not happy with any system that tries to let him out. This system doesn’t even consider him a criminal.”

Allaway entered the university library on July 12, 1976, and shot nine people at close range with a .22-caliber rifle. He later claimed that he went crazy because employees teased him and because he was upset by graffiti and homosexual activity in a men’s room where he worked. The shooting victims were library patrons and workers.

Allaway, who spent a month in a Michigan mental hospital in 1971, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to Atascadero, the state mental hospital for the most dangerous offenders. Allaway undergoes periodic evaluations and could be released if he is no longer considered a threat to himself or others.

Officials said Allaway was sent back to Atascadero because he actually had less freedom at Napa, where he was kept in a guarded, locked unit because he was not eligible to use the hospital campus, which is not gated.

“No one is saying he is a danger to others, that he is not in control of himself,” said Lauren Wonder, spokeswoman for the state Department of Mental Health who said that while Allaway might not belong at Napa, he could still be transferred to another transitional facility.

After an evaluation, Napa authorities found that Allaway was not eligible for privileges that include walking the hospital grounds alone, said Leslie Robinson, spokeswoman for Atascadero.

“It was our recommendation that he be transferred for preparation for community placement,” which could mean eventual freedom, Robinson said. “But he wasn’t given a grounds privilege card, so since he couldn’t take advantage of the programs there, he was transferred back.”

Allaway was sent back to Atascadero on Oct. 27, she said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gregory L. Prickett says he will do everything he can to keep Allaway at Atascadero, but Deputy Public Defender John Bovee said he plans to fight for his client’s release.

“Atascadero is definitely not where he belongs,” Bovee said. “He seems to be making progress, so the next step is appropriate.”

In June, Atascadero doctors recommended that Allaway be placed in an outpatient program that usually leads to unsupervised release. During a court hearing on the matter, a psychiatrist testified that Allaway was well enough to be released into the community.

Superior Court Judge Donald A. McCartin ruled that Allaway is too dangerous for the outpatient program but approved his transfer to Napa.