BRIGHTON, Colo. — In jail clothes, from behind bars, the man accused of walking into a Thornton Walmart last November and nonchalantly murdering three people insists he’s not mentally ill.
“Do you have mental illness? Are you mentally insane?” asked FOX 31 anchor Jeremy Hubbard via a webcam interview Friday afternoon.
“No,” Scott Ostrem replied.
Just days ago, Ostrem was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation at the state mental hospital in Pueblo, after he asked to represent himself in his upcoming trial on more than 50 charges, including murder and attempted murder.
“I tried to dismiss my counsel, so I’m kinda like … they’re just taking me down there to test me for a level of competence,” Ostrem told FOX 31.
“I’m not real happy about that situation, but such is life,” he added.
Ostrem refused to answer questions about the shooting on November 1 at the Walmart Supercenter near 99th Avenue and Grant Street in Thornton.
“Why did you go to Walmart that night?” Hubbard asked.
“These are questions that I can’t answer due the nature of my case,” Ostrem said.
Police say Ostrem killed Pamela Marques, 52, Carlos Moreno, 66, and Victor Vasquez, 26 – all three of them Hispanic. And neighbors have said he was prejudiced against Hispanic people.
“Are you a racist?” Hubbard asked.
“No I’m not,” Ostrem said.
“Do you like Hispanic people?” Hubbard added.
“Yeah,” Ostrem said.
“That was sort of a tepid response. I mean, you do like them? You have no problem with them?” Hubbard asked.
“No, not really. I mean everybody argues with somebody periodically on a human basis. You just disagree or something you know?” Ostrem tried to explain.
Ostrem will be back before a judge in April.
