Indiana killer who authorities say was inspired by ‘The Purge' to be sentenced
Jonathan Cruz | Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department
AP - An Indianapolis man is facing 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 is scheduled Thursday to formally sentence 20-year-old Johnathan Cruz, who 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.
Prosecutor Terry Curry says the attacks by Cruz were "absolutely random."