The father of a young woman who was shot in the head and killed in an ‘unprovoked attack’ at a Southern California movie theater, yelled ‘Look at me bro!’ at her alleged killer as he appeared in court on Friday.
The dad of 18-year-old Rylee Goodrich, David, demanded for the suspect to look in his direction as Joseph Jimenez, 20, was led through the courtroom in handcuffs.
‘Hey, look at me, bro! Look at me! Look at me, dude! That was my …’ the distraught parent said before breaking down in tears to be comforted by a friend.
Joseph Jimenez, 20 appears in the Riverside Hall of Justice, Friday, in Riverside, California. Jimenez did not enter a plea, opting instead to have his arraignment postponed until next week
Jimenez, 20, is suspected of shooting two people, and killing one, inside a Southern California movie theater. He has been charged with murder and attempted murder, prosecutors said
Jimenez looked towards the father of one of the victims as he was led through the courtroom
Jimenez turned his for a moment towards the woman’s father.
Goodrich, 18, and her boyfriend, Anthony Barajas, 19, a well-known TikTok user, were found late on Monday night by employees after a 9:35pm showing of The Forever Purge at a theater in Corona.
They had each been shot in the head. Goodrich died at the scene. Barajas was taken to a nearby hospital, where he remained on life support Friday, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
Defendant Jimenez appeared in Riverside County Superior Court on Friday but didn’t enter a plea and his arraignment was continued to next week.
Jimenez has been jailed since his arrest and he has been charged with murder and attempted murder. It’s not clear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak for him.
Jimenez is alleged to have killed Rylee Goodrich, 18, above, by a bullet to the back of the head
Anthony Barajas was also shot in the head as one of the bullets went through his eye
There was no known connection between the victims and Jimenez, authorities said and he has no previous adult criminal record.
‘Based on the evidence provided to our office, this appears to be a random and unprovoked attack,’ the statement said.
Corona police detectives identified Jimenez as a suspect and arrested him on Tuesday, seizing a handgun of the same caliber as the one believed to have been used in the shooting.
Police recovered Goodrich’s wallet and other possessions from Jimenez’s home less than 24 hours after the shooting.
Rylee Goodrich’s father, David, is seen leaving court on Friday after a brief court hearing
David could be heard shouting at Jimenez on camera ‘Hey, look at me, bro! Look at me! Look at me, dude! That was my …’ before he broke down in tears to be comforted by a friend
Joseph Jimenez, 20, speaks with his attorney Charles Kenyon as he is charged with murder and attempted murder
David Goodrich (left), who works as a private investigator, told DailyMail.com his daughter Rylee met Anthony Barajas at a party on the July fourth weekend, and that she was excited to begin a relationship with him
There was only a small audience for the showing of the movie, with only six tickets purchased, police said.
The allegations filed against Jimenez include sentencing enhancements of personal use of a firearm causing death, personally inflicting great bodily injury and personal use of a firearm causing great bodily injury.
Prosecutors also filed a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait which makes him eligible to receive the death penalty.
On Friday night, two memorial events were held in honor of Rylee.
A remembrance and prayer service was held Friday evening at New Beginnings Community Church for Rylee Goodrich’s parents, friends and other relatives.
A candlelight vigil it also to be held at the movie theater where she died on Saturday.
The New Beginnings Community Church Norco in Norco, California is used as a mourning place for family and friends of Rylee Goodrich
Friends and family mourn the death of Rylee Goodrich at the New Beginnings Community Church
Dozens of friends and family gathered on Friday night to mourn the death of Rylee Goodrich
People were spotted hugging one another as they made their way outside after a memorial service
Friends and family members embrace one another as they stand outside a church where a memorial service was held for Rylee Goodrich
A source close to the Corona Police Department said Jimenez told detectives he had been hearing voices.
Joseph Jimenez, 20, was arrested on July 27 and charged with murder, attempted murder, and robbery in a shooting that left a teen dead and a TikTok star on life support
But David said he believes the 20-year-old is merely trying to cut himself an insanity plea deal, and that the stolen wallet shows the young man knew what he was doing when he allegedly shot the two teenagers.
The bereaved father, who works as a private investigator, told DailyMail.com that Rylee met Anthony at a party on the July fourth weekend, and that she was excited to begin a relationship with him.
‘She met this guy over summer, I think at a party on the third or fourth of July. My first inkling, he was this TikTok influencer, and I rolled my eyes like ‘are you kidding me? Really, that’s your future?’ But her mom was very much give the guy a chance,’ David said.
‘I met him once before he went to Hawaii a few weeks ago. And then he came back from Hawaii and she was so excited. This sweet, sweet boy came with a bag full of souvenirs for all of us. It was the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen an 18-year-old do.
‘He gave my youngest daughter a necklace and me and my wife little keychains. My daughter told me ‘He surfs and bodyboards like you’. She sat there with this huge grin on her face, seeing that I was accepting of this boy, she was so happy.
‘I could tell she really, really liked this boy. And he really, really liked her. She was so f***ing happy.
Goodrich was shot in the back of the head at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings movie theater
‘They were so excited for their first date. She curled her hair all pretty. It was their first date that wasn’t a group of people.
‘They went to Wood Ranch, which was her favorite restaurant, and then they went to the movie.’
David revealed that Rylee was texting her mother just moments before the fatal shooting.
‘She texted my wife how boring and stupid it was, how she didn’t like the movie. That was the last we heard from her,’ he said.
‘It had to be right then.’
The 43-year-old said police told him they believe it was a random attack, and that Jimenez intended to steal from the young couple.
Rylee had been texting her mother just moments before the fatal shooting
‘They found my daughter’s wallet at his house, which means it was a robbery homicide. From what I understand it was a random thing,’ he said.
‘She never even had a chance. He basically shot her point blank behind her head. Then he shot her new boyfriend behind his head. He was able to flinch so it went through his eye, so he was able to survive.
‘I don’t know if they’ve taken him off life support but I think he’s brain dead.’
The movie, The Forever Purge, tells the story of Mexican migrants targeted by vigilantes during an annual US government ‘purge’, during which all crime is legal for 12 hours.
‘I’m thinking with all the sickness in this world, that was his MO, I’m going to go do this and this is going to be my purge night,’ David said.
He described his daughter as ‘passionate and hardworking’, attractive, sporty and popular but not conceited.
‘Rylee was majoring in marketing, and was on the dean’s list. She was on the honor roll at high school. She got a full ride academic scholarship to the private university in Arizona,’ her dad said
‘She was a sweet girl, very connected. I had her very young with my wife, so we kind of grew up together,’ he said.
‘It’s hard to talk about without crying. She was a beautiful blonde 18-year-old girl. She was home from college. Me and her, we were going to move her back for her sophomore year to Grand Canyon University.
‘She was majoring in marketing, she was on the dean’s list, she was on the honor roll at high school. She got a full ride academic scholarship to the private university in Arizona. She lettered in volleyball, in cheerleading. She did it all, she was a huge part of Corona High School.
‘I’m a PI and I had her doing some part time work for me over the summer. It struck up her interest and she was considering taking criminal justice as a minor, something to fall back on.’
Rylee’s little sister Keira, 10, was very close to her, following her into volleyball and even sleeping with Rylee in her room when she was home from college.
‘Keira looks up to her so much it’s unreal,’ David said. ‘She’s already playing volleyball. They were really close, best friends. Like sisters are, they’d give each other s*** but her love for her was really strong. When she was home from college Keira would sleep in her room a lot.
‘She was the whole package. My pride and joy. She was already talking about me having grandkids and what I would be called.’
The TikTok star’s most recent videos followed him enjoying a family vacation in Hawaii
The father said Rylee’s new boyfriend told him that although he had made money as a TikTok influencer with almost a million followers, his online persona was different to reality.
‘I’m a big, strong guy with a bunch of tattoos, I’m very protective of her. I let her do her life, but she knows I’m really protective and I wanted her to meet a guy who’s going to be compassionate and sensitive, and he seemed like that guy,’ David said.
‘He told me about his online personality, his TikTok thing. He goes, ‘I’ve monetized it, made a bit of money here and there but that’s not my reality. I know it is what it is.’ So he had his head screwed on straight.’
The private investigator said his daughter’s murder could have been prevented if movie theaters had installed metal detectors.
Goodrich and Barajas were watching ‘The Forever Purge’ on Monday when in a nearly empty movie theater when they were shot. It was their first real date
‘I’m not going to sit here and have a spitting contest about the second amendment. But an easy thing is to put in some metal detectors before you go in a movie theater,’ he said.
‘I was at a baseball game that night. They had to screen 40,000 people at a baseball game they have the wherewithal and finances to do that and you’re telling me they don’t in a movie theater? It’s easy. My daughter would be alive.’
The Goodrich family set up a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral and memorial expenses, which has now raised over $62,000.
Anthony Barajas family also set up an online fundraiser (GoFundMe) to help pay for his medical bills, which has since raised over $72,000.
Cops are keeping an open mind as to whether the shooting may have been connected to the violent plot of The Forever Purge, which the teens were watching when they were shot
Goodrich, 18, was killed and Barajas 19, was injured in a shooting at a movie theater (pictured) at the Regal Edwards Corona Crossings in Corona, California
The movie follows a migrant couple in a dystopian version of the United States in the year 2048 in which the government allows all crime for a 12-hour period – including murder