In a grim recounting of events that took place in a Corona movie theater on July 26, 2021, Joseph Jimenez Jr., accused of the fatal shootings of two teenagers, testified earlier this week about the delusions that led to the tragic incident. According to a report by The San Bernardino Sun, Jimenez heard voices from a character he named "Abigail" and another unnamed companion, which he believed were threatening his life during a screening of "The Forever Purge."
Jimenez, who had returned to the theater with friends after an earlier outing to Romano's Macaroni Grill at the Crossings shopping center, brought his firearm for protection. Upon hearing voices threatening to kill him, the suspect went to his car to retrieve his gun, and then, as the movie credits rolled, he shot 18-year-old Rylee Goodrich and 19-year-old Anthony Barajas in the backs of their heads. In a gripping testimony, Jimenez said, "I know I shouldn’t have done that but it was in the heat of the moment," as recounted by The San Bernardino Sun.
Jimenez, who withdrew his not guilty pleas, is currently facing an insanity trial to determine his mental state at the time of the offense. According to KABC, the case, devoid of a criminal trial jury, will instead have a judge ascertain if the defendant was sane. If found to be sane, Jimenez will receive a prison sentence, while an insanity finding would result in a commitment to a state hospital.
In the courtroom, testimony from Jimenez's former friend Carlos Gonzalez described a chilling scene where Jimenez gave "death stares" and muttered to himself, causing discomfort among friends. Despite the alarms raised, the friends exited the theater without Jimenez, who had told himself, "I can't do that to them," according to KABC reporting. Tragically, the ensuing violence led to the untimely death of the young couple, after which mourners gathered for a vigil, remembering Goodrich and Barajas in a heartbreaking public display of grief.
As the trial pushed through to an expected conclusion around December 12, Daisy Jimenez, the defendant's sister, imparted to the court her brother's mental health decline, including a diagnosis of schizophrenia with paranoid hallucinations and prior admissions to mental health facilities, as per KABC. The defense's burden remains to prove Jimenez's insanity at the time of the killings, a claim firmly rooted in the defendant's testimony of auditory hallucinations compelling him toward violence.
