Man who fatally shot 2 teens in a California movie theater is sentenced to life without parole

The gunman who fatally shot an influencer and college student inside a California movie theater in 2021 learned his fate during his sentencing hearing on Monday.

Joseph Jimenez Jr., 23, was slapped with life in prison without the possibility of parole for the ruthless killings of Rylee Goodrich, 18, and Anthony Barajas, 19, who were on their first date.

The teens were shot in the back of their heads during a late-night showing of the horror film “The Forever Purge” at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings in Los Angeles on July 26, 2021, according to prosecutors.

Goodrich, a sophomore at Grand Canyon University, died instantly from the gunshot wound, according to police.

Barajas, a rising TikTok star with more than 1 million followers, was rushed to the hospital, where he spent five days on life support before he died.

Jimenez initially pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the cold-blooded murders.

His defense team attempted to make the case that their client suffered from schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication because he ran out of pills before the shooting.

In a jailhouse interview with the Riverside Press-Enterprise in 2021, Jimenez claimed he heard voices in his head from “Abigail” and another voice telling him that the teens were dangerous right before carrying out the shooting.

Jimenez told the outlet the voices told him the only way he could save himself from the victims was to shoot them.

During Jimenez’s trial, however, Superior Court Judge Timothy J. Hollenhorst ruled that Jimenez was sane during the shooting.

Hollenhorst reason for ruling Jimenez sane while carrying out the murders was due to the killer’s “normal interaction” with a female concession worker before the movie, where he asked for her phone number, according to the LA Times.

The judge also backed up the ruling sharing that Jimenez had stolen Goodrich’s wallet after shooting her and Barajas “execution style.”

Hollenhorst added that Jimenez ran out of an emergency exit door afterward and didn’t immediately tell Corona police about the voices.

“There is no question that the defendant suffers from schizophrenia… It is also clear to this court that the defendant was not treating his mental health issues appropriately by not regularly taking his medication,” Hollenhorst said during the trial.

Carlos Gonzalez, Jimenez’s former friend who attended the movie with two others, testified during his trial that Jimenez had been acting strange, muttering to himself at dinner on the night of the shooting, according to ABC 7.

Gonzalez told the court that Jimenez repeatedly told himself, “I can’t do that to them” during the film. 

The interaction leading up to the killing prompted the friends to leave the theater.

Gonzalez said he asked Jimenez to leave with them, which he declined. 

The killer’s former friend added that if he had known Jimenez planned on killing the couple, he would have done more to stop him.

They were the only people — other than the couple — in the theater when Jimenez carried out the unprovoked killings.

Jimenez was apprehended at his home the following day after his friends called police to say he returned home from the movie about halfway through the showing and returned with a bag holding a “strap.”

Police shared they found a gun matching the caliber of the murder weapon upon his arrest.

Investigators found no connection between Jimenez and the couple.

With Post Wires