Mother of confessed Hedingham mass shooter testifies at sentencing hearing

The mother of the confessed killer in Raleigh’s deadliest mass shooting took the witness stand Wednesday and testified that she “may never know why” Austin Thompson killed five people in their Hedingham neighborhood.

“Austin,” she said, addressing her son in a shaky voice, “I know you did this, and I also know as your mom this isn’t anything you had in you.”

Elise Thompson described the defendant and his older brother as “good kids” who made honor-roll grades and liked ice cream on Sunday afternoons.

From the table where he sat with his attorneys, Thompson smiled at the mention of this memory.

Thompson’s mother insisted she knew of nothing that would cause her son to shoot his older brother James in the head then stab him more than 50 times in the neck before launching a shooting rampage.

Without elaborating, Thompson said she had heard her son’s acne medication had contributed.

“It was a complete shock,” she said. “There were no different moods. There was no different behavior. Nothing.”

Several witnesses have described a note in his bedroom explaining his actions, but the contents have not been released.

However, Raleigh police Lt. J.E. Rigsbee testified Wednesday that he found what appeared to be a second note torn off from the first, left on the dresser outside the bathroom where Thompson’s mother discovered her oldest son’s body.

It read, “James dead inside. Don’t look.”

After Thompson’s mother testified, three of his teachers at Knightdale High School described a normal day in class before the shooting, and they could point to nothing that would indicate the coming violence.

One former teacher, Laura Wright, noted that Thompson favored first-person shooter games and would play them during her animation and design class, violating school policy. But she said many students did this, knowing back-door ways into the games.

Thompson needed constant redirection, she said, and played the games as soon as she turned her back. But he finished his work first and, notably, sat directly in front of her desk.

He also created a comic book on paper involving a hero turned villain who shot other characters, she said, but he followed the assignment’s directions and it did not stand out at the time.

“I’m just thinking if there was something I could have done,” she said, concluding there wasn’t.

Earlier on the witness stand, Thompson’s mother read her letter addressing both of her sons in the past tense, noting that she and her husband, Alan Thompson, lost both of their sons that day.

“No one ever thinks they will outlive their child, let alone find their lifeless body,” she said, recalling her discovery of James’ body. “Austin was a happy kid. ... What he did makes no sense to me. We don’t know why he did it and we may never know why he did it.

“We belong to the worst club on Earth,” she concluded. “My heart is shattered.”

This story was originally published February 4, 2026 at 4:09 PM.

Josh Shaffer

The News & Observer

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Josh Shaffer is a general assignment reporter on the watch for “talkers,” which are stories you might discuss around a water cooler. He has worked for The News & Observer since 2004 and writes a column about unusual people and places.