Johnathan Cruz was a nineteen year old teen killer from Indiana who would murder three people in four days
According to court documents Johnathan Cruz was obsessed with the movie The Purge and decided to make the film come to life. Over a four days period he would fatally shoot Billy Boyd, Jay Higginbotham and Jose Alberto while also committing an armed robbery of another man.
Johnathan Cruz was arrested, convicted and sentenced to three life sentences without parole
Johnathan Cruz Now
| DOC Number | 250449 | |
| First Name | JOHNATHAN | |
| Middle Name | S | |
| Last Name | CRUZ | |
| Suffix | ||
| Date of Birth | 07/1996 | |
| Gender | Male | |
| Race | White | |
| Facility/Location | Wabash Valley Long Term Segregation | |
| Earliest Possible Release Date* * Incarcerated individuals scheduled for release on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday are released on Monday. Incarcerated individuals scheduled for release on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday are released on Thursday. Incarcerated individuals whose release date falls on a Holiday are released on the first working day prior to the Holiday. | 00/00/0000 | |
Johnathan Cruz Case
An Indianapolis man has received three consecutive life sentences in prison for killing three people over four days last spring in attacks that authorities say he justified by citing the horror movie, “The Purge.”
A Marion County judge formally sentenced 20-year-old Johnathan Cruz on Wednesday. Cruz pleaded guilty last month to three counts of murder. Prosecutors dropped plans to seek the death penalty.
Cruz was charged with fatally shooting three men during attacks on the city’s east and north sides. Detectives say a witness told them Cruz confessed he’d been “purging” by shooting and robbing people, referring to the 2013 movie with a plot about violent crime, including murder, being legal one night each year.
Between May 12-15, 2016, prosecutors say Cruz killed Billy Boyd, Jay Higginbotham and Jose Alberto.
Police recovered a number of text messages from Cruz’s cellphone. In one, Cruz allegedly says, “I Purge every night now … since im dieing (sic) someone else Has to.”
His girlfriend, Angela Barger, defended him after an initial court appearance.
“He’s not evil like they’re making him out to be,” Barger said. “He’s fun. Not violent.”
“As we describe the homicides which are occurring in our city, we frequently sound like a broken record when we describe these murders as “senseless,” Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said at the time. “But the killings that have occurred here are beyond senseless.”
https://www.wrtv.com/news/crime/purge-killer-johnathan-cruz-to-be-formally-sentenced-thursdsay