Death penalty sought in teen's 'Purge' killings case

An Indianapolis teen, who police say modeled a four-day killing spree in May after the plot of the horror film series "The Purge," could face the death penalty if convicted.

Johnathan Cruz, 19, faces three murder charges in connection with the shooting deaths of 54-year-old Billy Boyd and 40-year-old Jay Higginbotham on May 12 and 44-year-old Jose Ruiz on May 15. He also faces a slew of other felony charges connected to the killings, including robbery and intimidation.

Now, prosecutors will pursue the death penalty against Cruz.

"The killings which have occurred here are beyond senseless," Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said during a news conference Tuesday. "Quite simply, we allege that these were killings for sport, and thus could not be more appropriate for consideration for capital punishment."

Teen's 4-day killing spree inspired by 'The Purge,' court docs say

Prosecutors likely reviewed Cruz's background to determine whether he had a mental illness or an incapacity at the time of the killings, said Jack Crawford, an Indianapolis defense attorney and former Lake County prosecutor, noting that a mental illness is a mitigating factor in such cases.

"This is an unusual case in the sense that there doesn't appear to be any logical motive for the shootings," Crawford said. "The facts of the case beg the question: Was he mentally stable when he committed the crime?"

Curry would not reveal the findings of Cruz's mental health evaluation, saying only that there were considerations beyond guilt or innocence that dictated whether his office would seek the death penalty.

Crawford said prosecutors likely wouldn't have sought the death penalty without some evidence that Cruz was competent and knew the killings were wrong.

Curry said prosecutors considered input from the victims' families.

"There were various opinions (from family members) about how we should proceed," Curry said. "Some were in favor of us pursuing this course; others were not. But ultimately we have to make our decision."

Curry previously sought the death penalty in other high-profile killings that were eligible for such a sentence, including for Major Davis Jr., accused of killing Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer Perry Renn in 2014, and for Kenneth "Cody" Rackemann, in a quadruple homicide that same year. While Davis' case is pending, Rackemann avoided the death penalty when he reached a plea deal and was given four life sentences.

Crawford noted that the death penalty can be levied in order to negotiate a plea agreement, such as in Rackemann's case.

"Oftentimes, the death penalty is used as a plea bargaining tool," he said.

Cruz's next court hearing is a pretrial conference at 9 a.m. Wednesday in Marion Superior Court.

'Purge' victim's family: 'A piece of us is missing'

Twelve inmates are on death row in Indiana, according to a state list last updated in December. The last person the state executed was 49-year-old Matthew Wrinkles in 2009. He was convicted of murdering his wife, his brother-in-law and his brother-in-law's wife in Evansville in 1994.

Indiana has executed 20 men since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977.

Among pending death penalty cases in Indiana:

• Davis, 27, is accused of shooting and killing IMPD officer Renn in 2014. Prosecutors often seek the death penalty in cases when officers are killed in the line of duty, Crawford said.

• Joseph Oberhansley, 34, is accused of raping and killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body in Jeffersonville in 2014. Mutilation and rape are considered aggravating circumstances in Indiana.

• Darren Deon Vann, 45, is accused of strangling seven women in Gary; all were found dead in 2014. The multiple charges of murder were listed as the aggravating circumstances the state planned to prove, the Times of Munster reported.

IndyStar reporters Jill Disis and Justin Mack contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @michaeladams317.

Call IndyStar reporter Madeline Buckley at (317) 444-6083. Follow her on Twitter: @Mabuckley88.