Richard Wade Farley was born on July 25, 1948, in Texas. He was the oldest of six children. His father served in the military, which meant that the family moved often. They eventually settled in California. Farley graduated from high school in 1966. After high school, he attended Santa Rosa Junior College for a time.

In 1967, Farley joined the United States Navy. He served in the Navy for ten years. After being discharged in 1977, he found work as a software technician at ESL Inc., a defense contractor located in Sunnyvale, California. Farley worked at ESL Inc. for several years.

In February 1988, Richard Farley, a former employee of ESL Incorporated, carried out a mass shooting at the company's headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. This act followed years of stalking Laura Black, a co-worker whom Farley had fixated on after meeting her in 1984. Black had filed a temporary restraining order against him just days before the shooting.

On February 16, Farley drove his motorhome to the ESL parking lot. He intended to confront Black and either persuade her to lift the restraining order or take his own life. Instead, he came armed with multiple weapons, including shotguns and handguns, and carried over 1,000 rounds of ammunition.

At approximately 2:50 PM, Farley approached the building. His first victim was Lawrence J. Kane, whom he shot in the parking lot. After that, he continued inside, shooting several more employees. Farley made his way through the building, killing six more people and injuring four others, including Black, whom he shot through her office door.

After the shooting, Farley called emergency services and confessed to the killings. He then barricaded himself inside the building, leading police on a standoff that lasted five hours. Farley expressed some regret over injuring Black but claimed the other victims posed a threat to him. At around 8:30 PM, he surrendered to law enforcement after requesting a sandwich and a soft drink.

In total, Farley killed seven individuals and wounded four. He was arrested and later convicted of first-degree murder. Farley received a death sentence in January 1992. Since then, he has remained on death row, with appeals and legal proceedings continuing over the years.