Mother of Pulse victim: Confession was ‘coerced’
Christine Leinonen, whose only son was killed in the Pulse massacre, said she lost hope for a conviction against the gunman’s widow when she heard testimony of Noor Salman’s alleged confession — which Leinonen found to be “clearly coerced.”
Other survivors and family members of the 49 killed reacted with outrage, disgust and a sense of betrayal to Friday’s verdict, with some saying the justice system failed them.
“There was not the overwhelming evidence they needed,” said Leinonen, a former state trooper and attorney who lives outside Polk City. “But I don’t blame the government [prosecutors]. That confession was clearly coerced. Cops screw up their own cases.”
Central to the prosecution were statements Salman reportedly made to FBI Special Agent Ricardo Enriquez over an 11-hour period following the attack by her husband, Omar Mateen. The jury never heard those statements directly, as the agent didn’t record them. Instead, he transcribed her words — at her request, he said, because she
her request, he said, because she was too nervous.
“You can’t hold people that long and expect them not to [just] say anything so they can leave,” Leinonen said. “To hold her for 11 hours, when she’s [separated] from her child? That would have driven me crazy.”
Leinonen’s son, 32-year-old Christopher “Drew” Leinonen and his boyfriend, Juan Ramon Guerrero, were among those gunned down in the club. In the months since, she has been an outspoken proponent of sensible gun laws and worked for a nonprofit started in her son’s memory, The Dru Project.
Still, Leinonen said, she does believe Salman was guilty of knowing that her husband was planning an attack and doing nothing to stop it. Many survivors agreed.
“I’m devastated. … I thought I was all cried out, but I guess I’m not,” said Tiara Parker, a 22-year-old makeup artist who hid in a Pulse bathroom stall as Mateen kicked in doors and fired indiscriminately. Her cousin, Akyra Murray, bled to death on the floor as they waited for police to rescue them.
“Do we not deserve justice? Do we not deserve peace?” she said between sobs during a 15-minute video posted on her Facebook page. “She knew what he was going to do — and she did not stop it. I really do feel like our justice system failed us.”
Even those who weren’t surprised by the verdict said it was still painful.
“I believe in divine justice. She might’ve been innocent on earth, but God knows what she did,” said Mayra Alvear, whose daughter, Amanda Alvear, was killed in the attack. “The life of my daughter and the 48 other angels will remain on her conscience.”
During the government’s case, jurors watched video of Salman and Mateen standing together as he purchased ammunition and jewelry. They learned that Mateen had made his wife a death beneficiary on his accounts. A former IRS investigator testified the couple spent more than $32,000 between June 1 and June 12, including $26,532 in credit card purchases.
“She married a guy knowing he wanted to commit a jihad,” Leinonen said. “And she accepted all those gifts. He’s spending $26,000 when he only makes $30,000 in a year and getting all his ducks in a row, making her payable upon his death. So she knew jihad was imminent, even if she didn’t know where.”
Damaris Benitez Torres, the sister of Pulse victim Martin Benitez, said she followed the trial from her home in Puerto Rico because officials had suggested she and other relatives not travel to Orlando until sentencing — a phase that would have taken place only if Salman had been found guilty.
“We never imagined that this is what would happen,” Benitez Torres said through a translator. “We’re disappointed, very hurt and we feel betrayed. … We’re still shedding tears for my brother and for all the victims.”
But others said they have tried not to focus on the trial or its outcome.
Sonia Cruz — whose nephew, Peter “Ommy” Gonzalez Cruz, died in the attack — said she has followed only sporadically, learning, for instance, that Mateen had planned to conceal his gun in a baby stroller during a potential attack at Disney Springs, but changed his mind.
“The only way I can heal my heart is [to] hear nothing about that situation anymore,” Cruz said.
Pulse owner Barbara Poma, who launched the charitable one PULSE Foundation after the attack, encouraged survivors to “find peace in our hearts.”
“Remember that he was the one who pulled the trigger that night,” Poma said in a written statement. “He was the perpetrator, and he should not have one more minute of power over our lives. … We will focus now on healing, and we will continue to work to help communities emerge from violence and hate.” Gal Tziperman Lotan, Bianca Padro Ocasio and Krista Torralva contributed to this story