USA TODAY International Edition
Accomplice or victim? Trial will determine role of Pulse gunman’s wife
Mother of slain club-goer hoping for some answers
Christine Leinonen couldn’t care less about the widow of the Pulse nightclub gunman.
She plans to attend the first day of the trial Thursday that’s set to determine Noor Salman’s fate, but only with the hope she might get some answers — anything to better understand what happened to her son, Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, before he died inside the Orlando venue.
“It’s not going to be easy to hear the details of what happened inside and what led up to the shooting, but I already have nightmares,” she said. “It can’t be worse than what I already imagine happened to my son as he was murdered.”
The shooting on June 12, 2016, left 49 clubgoers dead and dozens injured. Gunman Omar Mateen traveled about 120 miles for the deadly ambush and died in a shootout with officers.
At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in recent U.S. history.
Since Salman’s arrest in early 2017, many of those who survived the attack have hoped that someone would be held responsible for ripping their lives apart. She was charged with aiding and abetting the support of a foreign terrorist organization and obstruction of justice. Salman faces up to life in federal prison.
Court documents paint a picture of two conflicting women: a mother in a violent marriage who was afraid of her husband and knew nothing, and an accomplice who knew the terror her husband planned and helped push his plans forward.
Here are the some of the key points to know ahead of the trial:
As her husband’s attack was still unfolding, law enforcement arrived at the couple’s home in Fort Pierce, Fla.
She was questioned by federal authorities, and her story changed multiple times, prosecutors say. In the end, she initialed and signed a 12-page statement that outlined her knowledge of Mateen’s planning and said she knew he was going to attack the club when he left their home.
She had accompanied him while casing Pulse and other targets, including Disney Springs, also in Orlando, prosecutors said. It’s unclear why Mateen chose Pulse — an unknown that could be answered during the trial.
Prosecutors have accused Salman of helping provide a cover story for Mateen as he traveled to Orlando for the attack. Text messages, which Salman deleted, show she told her husband what to say if his mother called to invite him to dinner.
“I knew when he left the house he was going to Orlando to attack the Pulse nightclub,” the statement said.
Salman’s attorneys plan to argue the statements were coerced during hours of interrogation.
A psychologist examined her mental state and found she suffered from a “significant mental disorder” along with post-traumatic stress disorder, which was caused by alleged physical and mental abuse by her husband.
Prosecutors will have to prove not only that Salman knew about her husband’s plan but that she intentionally associated with or contributed to it.