The teen couple was watching the movie “The Forever Purge,” about a night of anarchy and violence, but authorities don’t believe the movie’s storyline had anything to do with the shooting.
The California man who is accused of killing TikTok star Anthony Barajas, 19, and his friend Rylee Goodrich, 18, inside a movie theater in July has entered an insanity plea, NBC News reported.
Joseph Jimenez, 20, appeared Monday at the Riverside Hall of Justice for his hearing and his lawyers entered two pleas on his behalf -- not guilty and not guilty on reason of insanity in the shooting deaths of the two teenagers, NBC News reported.
John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, said that Jimenez’s attorneys made two different not guilty pleas because there would be two phases if the case goes to trial, which are a guilt phase and a phase to determine whether Jimenez was insane, CBS News reported.
Attorneys are scheduled to return to court on October 22 to discuss the appointment of a defense psychiatrist, CBS News reported.
Jimenez faces two counts of murder and special circumstance allegations of lying in wait, which, in California, makes him eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, ABC 7 reported.
Barajas and Goodrich were at a theater in Corona, California, taking in a screening of the horror thriller, “The Forever Purge,” when they were shot, cops said. Theater staff found them with gunshot wounds after the movie.
The two victims had been shot in the head, according to the DA's charging documents.
Goodrich died at the scene, Barajas died days after being removed from life support.
Jimenez was arrested days later. He later gave an interview following his arrest to the Press-Enterprise, where he said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and wasn't taking his medication at the time of the shooting.
Barajas was well-known in the social media community as itsanthonymichael and had nearly 1 million followers on TikTok and more on other platforms, CBS News reported.
During Jimenez's arraignment appearance in August, Goodrich's father confronted his daughter's accused killer in court.
“Look at me, bro. Look at me!” David was heard saying to Jimenez as he was led away in handcuffs.
“When he walked by me, it was just pure rage,” David Goodrich later told Inside Edition in August. “I couldn’t even think of the words to say, but I knew that I had a window, and I just wanted him to look at me."
