Counseling for Razor Blade Felon

A 22-year-old Mission Viejo woman who planted razor blades and glass shards in southern Orange County playgrounds was placed on probation Monday and will be allowed to seek psychiatric help rather than serve prison time.

Lori Elizabeth Fischer apologized and told the court she hoped the community could forgive her for the incidents, which panicked parents and school officials and prompted deputies to sweep South County parks with metal detectors over a period of six weeks.

Despite the nature of the crimes, psychologists, neighbors and an Orange County sheriff’s investigator concluded that compassion -- not punishment -- was better for Fischer, who could have been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Fischer told court-appointed psychologists that her crimes were a result of being tormented and bullied as a grade-school student, an inability to make lasting friendships and a life consumed with depression.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald said he placed Fischer on five years of formal probation so she could get treatment and prohibited her from any contact with children.

“No one should do what you did and not find themselves in prison,” Fitzgerald said. “But because of the illness that you have, the court will give you a chance to get help.”

Fischer, who has been in jail since June, is scheduled to be released today to her parents, who were told to take their adopted daughter to a Torrance psychiatric center where she will spend at least a month.

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Psychological Problems

Court records show Fischer suffered from a personality disorder, leaving her torn between wanting to harm children or spare them from danger. At times, she told psychologists, she was “Chris,” an imaginary friend who wanted to protect her by striking back at the children who had bullied her. And other times she was “Dani,” who wanted to protect the children.

Fischer pleaded guilty in February to 18 felony counts of child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. She buried nearly 200 nails and razor blades at parks in Foothill Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo from April until June, when she was arrested.

On several occasions, Fischer tipped off police from pay phones as “Dani,” warning them of cities about to be targeted. During questioning, police said Fischer took on the personality of “Chris” and challenged detectives to a fight. When investigators offered to get help for “Chris,” Fischer refused.

“That would mean I’m not normal,” she said. “I just want to be normal.”

Fischer kept newspaper clippings of the discoveries and filled a thick journal with musings and poems about the incidents.

“She is deeply remorseful,” Deputy Public Defender Lisa Kopelman said. “She was always torn and wanted to be caught. She was ill, and this is a way, a bad way, of it coming out.”

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Sentence Disappointing

Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen Schatzle said she was disappointed with the sentence: “When we take a look at this woman and the potential threat she posed to the community, the only appropriate sentence is a state prison term. She’s a mentally ill person, an angry person with a twisted mind.”

Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit with her hair in a ponytail, Fischer cracked a sheepish smile as she entered the courtroom. Her parents, the only courtroom spectators, smiled and waved at her.

“I apologize for all the grief I’ve caused,” she told the court. “May God bless all who these incidents touched. I hope that in time, the community can forgive me for doing what I did.”

Fischer, according to court records, said her troubles began after her family moved from Texas to Mission Viejo, where she had trouble making friends. She said she was constantly teased about her weight. She said she was tossed in a trash can and, on another occasion, hid under a school trailer for hours to avoid the taunting.

On the recommendation of public school officials, she was moved to a private school. By the seventh grade, Fischer was hospitalized after taking an overdose of decongestant tablets.

Fischer said she was able to forge some friendships in high school, but after graduation she drifted back into depression.

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Not Afraid of Defendant

Fischer’s neighbors and others who knew her only by her crimes said she did not seem to pose a danger.

Lisa Fahey, a Mission Viejo mother of three young children who occasionally visits one of the parks where razor blades were discovered, said Fischer’s sentence was just.

“I don’t think she belongs in prison,” Fahey said. “And I’m not afraid to have her back in the community.”

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Times staff writer David McKibben contributed to this report.