Prosecutor to seek death penalty in Indy ‘Purge’ killings

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Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said Tuesday he will seek the death penalty in the case of a 19-year-old Indianapolis man charged with fatally shooting three people over four days in May.

Curry said at a news conference that Johnathan Cruz killed the three “for sport,” describing the killings as “beyond senseless.” Curry said Cruz based the killings on the horror movie “The Purge,” which is about one day a year when murder is legal. Cruz has pleaded not guilty in the shootings of Billy Boyd and Jay Higginbotham on May 12 and Jose Ruiz on May 15.

According to court documents, detectives said a witness told them Cruz confessed he had been “purging” by shooting and robbing people.

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