This episode contains graphic descriptions and audio that may be upsetting to some listeners.

Listener discretion is advised.

The Apex on the Abyss presents The Chasm, Episode 3, Brenda Spencer.

Brenda Spencer was born on April 3, 1962, to Wallace and Dot Spencer.

She had bright red hair, glasses, and by the time she was 16 years old, she had reached the height of 5'2.

Brenda would be described by her peers as crummy-looking, and her teachers would further

describe her as quiet and introverted.

Her parents had separated at some point in the 70s, and Brenda moved with her father to live in a

relatively quiet neighborhood in San Diego, California. The house in which they resided was across the street

from the Grover Cleveland Elementary School. Brenda and her father lived in poor conditions.

The house was in disarray with empty bottles of booze lining the floor, and they shared a single

mattress that was placed in the living room.

The relationship between the two was far from perfect.

To give an example of how Brenda thought her father felt towards her, in 1978, Brenda had

requested a radio for Christmas, to which her father gave her a Ruger 1022 semi-automatic

22 caliber rifle with a telescope site and

500 rounds of ammunition. She would later state that she felt like he wanted her to kill herself

with the weapon, and that's why he gave it to her versus the radio she requested.

In the summer of 1978, before Brenda received the gun, she would be arrested for shooting

out the windows of the school across the street with a BB gun, and also for burglary.

She was put through psychiatric evaluations where they determined that she was depressed and suicidal.

But she was put on probation for her crimes, and her probation officer recommended that

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