THE alleged Purge movie theater shooter has claimed voices led him to kill after a cheerleader and TikToker were shot and killed.
Rylee Goodrich, 18, was found dead in the attack in California during a screening of the movie The Forever Purge, and her date Anthony Barajas, 19, later died from his injuries.
Suspect Joseph Jimenez has since claimed that he killed the two teenagers because voices in his head that tormented him for eight months told him to.
"The voices said my friends and family were going to be killed," Jimenez said in a jailhouse interview on Wednesday, obtained by The Press-Enterprise.
He was then asked if shooting Goodrich and Barajas was the only way to save his loved ones, to which he replied "basically, yeah."
Jimenez claimed that the voices also threaten to steal his car and television.
He added that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia roughly eight months ago and was taking medication. However, he admitted that recently he has not been taking his pills as they had "ran out" and he "didn't get it refilled."
Speaking of the night of the killing, Jimenez said the voices were overwhelming and stopped him from concentrating on the movie.
'VOICES WERE OVERWHELMING'
Despite the theme of The Forever Purge – being that all laws are suspended for 12-hours per year – Jimenez said this did not influence his actions.
He said that he left the theater and went to his car to retrieve the gun he had purchased online.
Jimenez was sat with three friends who told investigators that they had been alarmed by him bringing the gun in and talking to himself, leading them to flee the building.
He was sat behind Barajas and Goodrich, near the back of the theater, when he came up behind them.
The suspect claimed that he shot Barajas first and Goodrich "sort of jumped" before Jimenez shot her too. He then ran away from the theater, as he felt his heart beating, he said.
Jimenez is set to be arraigned in court on Thursday morning on two counts of murder with two special-circumstance allegations – lying in wait and multiple murders.
These charges could see him face the death penalty if the attorney's office decides to pursue it.
As reported by The Sun, the cheerleader was on her first date with Barajas, whom she met over July 4 weekend.
'RAN OUT OF MEDS'
Her father David Goodrich says that Rylee was texting her mother that the movie was boring just minutes before she was killed by the suspect, Joseph Jimenez.
He says his daughter "never even had a chance" after Jimenez shot her execution-style.
"He basically shot her point-blank behind her head," the 43-year-old told DailyMail.com.
David added that Barajas managed to swerve after he heard the first shot with the second bullet hitting him in the eye.
Barajas was initially in critical condition but later died following the shooting.
"Then he shot her new boyfriend behind his head. He was able to flinch so it went through his eye, so he was able to survive," David, who works as a private investigator, said.
"I don't know if they've taken him off life support but I think he's brain dead."
'SWEET, SWEET BOY'
David said that she had been excited about the date and that he approved of the relationship despite being protective over her.
"My first inkling, he was this TikTok influencer, and I rolled my eyes like 'are you kidding me? Really, that's your future?'" he told DailyMail.com.
"But her mom was very much give the guy a chance.
"I met him once before he went to Hawaii a few weeks ago. And then he came back from Hawaii and she was so excited.
"This sweet, sweet boy came with a bag full of souvenirs for all of us. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen an 18-year-old do," he added.
David said that the couple had gone to Rylee's favorite restaurant before heading to the movie.
"She texted my wife how boring and stupid it was, how she didn't like the movie. That was the last we heard from her," the grieving father added.
"It had to be right then."
'I LET HER DO HER LIFE'
Soccer player Barajas had more than 920,000 followers on TikTok and more than 40,000 followers on Instagram.
Yet David said that he approved of the teen who appeared to have his "head screwed on straight."
"I'm a big, strong guy with a bunch of tattoos, I'm very protective of her," he said.
"I let her do her life, but she knows I'm really protective and I wanted her to meet a guy who's going to be compassionate and sensitive, and he seemed like that guy.
"He told me about his online personality, his TikTok thing," David explained.
"He goes, 'I've monetized it, made a bit of money here and there but that's not my reality. I know it is what it is.' So he had his head screwed on straight."
SUSPECT ARRESTED
Jimenez, 20, was arrested by Corona police and booked for murder, attempted murder, and robbery.
Rylee's wallet was found in his home and he reportedly told cops that he had been hearing voices before he attacked the couple.
However, David believes the suspect is pushing for an insanity plea deal.
"They found my daughter's wallet at his house, which means it was a robbery-homicide. From what I understand it was a random thing," he said.
"I'm not going to sit here and have a spitting contest about the second amendment. But an easy thing is to put in some metal detectors before you go in a movie theater.
"I was at a baseball game that night. They had to screen 40,000 people at a baseball game they have the wherewithal and finances to do that and you're telling me they don't in a movie theater? It's easy," David added.
"My daughter would be alive."
During the actual movie time, no one apparently heard the gunshot.
The shooting took place just before midnight on Monday at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings, California.
Staff reportedly discovered the victims while they were cleaning up, the New York Post reports.
Employee Kailyn Dillon told KCAL: “During the actual movie time, no one apparently heard the gunshot.”
There were only three other people inside the movie theater at the time.
They do not think the theme of the movie is connected to the crime.
The young couple was watching The Forever Purge – a dystopian action film where the government allows all crime including murder – when the shooting erupted.
Police didn’t recover a firearm at the scene.
However, during a search of Jiminez's home in El Cerrito on Tuesday, officers found a gun they believe was used to carry out the shooting.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover Rylee's funeral expenses.
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