Teen guilty of second-degree murder in teacher killing
May 16, 2001
Nathaniel Brazill is convicted of second-degree murder, and now faces a sentence between 25 years and life.
CNN's Mark Potter reports
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) -- A jury Wednesday found 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazill guilty of second-degree murder for killing his middle school English teacher last May.
The verdict was a lesser charge than first-degree murder, which was sought by the prosecution and would have carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The jury of nine women and three men, many of them parents, had deliberated since Monday afternoon.
Brazill's attorneys conceded that he shot and killed Barry Grunow, a popular language arts teacher, on May 26 last year, but they insisted it was an accident. Brazill was 13 years old at the time of the shooting.
The teen had a quizzical look on his face when the verdict was read in the hushed courtroom. His attorney, Robert Udell, placed his head on Brazill's left shoulder and closed his eyes.
Udell said his client turned to him and said, "Not too bad," after the verdict was read.
A second-degree murder charge -- which means jurors believed the shooting was spur of the moment and not premeditated -- carries a minimum 25-year prison term up to life in prison. Brazill was also found guilty of aggravated assault for pointing the gun at another teacher as he fled the scene.
But Kurt Grunow, the slain teacher's brother, said he was "very disappointed" with Brazill's conviction on the reduced charge.
"If you want to say you're not going convict him because of his age, that's one thing. But it's clearly first-degree murder," Grunow said. "He said he was going to do it, and he went back and did it."
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for June 29 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.
Brazill's attorneys said that the judge has a lot of discretion in deciding the teen's sentence.
"I think the judge has leeway from zero time in prison to life," Udell said.
Udell said he had mixed emotions because he felt a manslaughter verdict was merited. But he was pleased a first-degree verdict was not returned.
"Apparently, (the jury) believed Nathaniel that he didn't go to school with the intent to assault and/or kill Mr. Grunow," he said. "We won a little battle today."
"I agree that it was a fair verdict. Let's see if we get a fair sentence," Udell said.
Prosecutors said the jury did a good job and delivered a "just verdict."
During the trial, the teen testified that he pointed the gun at Grunow because he would not let him speak to two girls in his class. Brazill, who was sent home earlier that day for a water balloon fight, testified that he cocked the .25 caliber pistol because he wanted Grunow to take him seriously, and the weapon went off. He said he thought the safety was on.
Prosecutors argued that Brazill brought the gun to school because he was angry about being suspended by another teacher for throwing water balloons. They said he was also upset because he was failing Grunow's class.
In his closing argument, assistant State Attorney Marc Shiner repeated his opening statement that a "storm was brewing" inside Nathaniel Brazill the day of the shooting last year.
Kurt Grunow said he was "very disappointed" with Brazill's conviction on the reduced charge
"This is first-degree murder anyway you look at it," he said. "You don't point a gun at someone and when it goes off ... call it an accident."
Prosecutors called a number of students who saw the shooting and a girl who said he made death threats just hours before the shooting. The most dramatic testimony came from Brazill himself during two days on the stand last week.
At one point, he clutched the handgun used in the shooting, showed jurors how he cocked the weapon and put a bullet in the chamber.
Brazill showed little emotion during his testimony, but shed tears when asked if Grunow took him seriously "after you shot him."
Brazill said he pulled the slide back on the gun to cock it and told the teacher to get out of his way.
"I was aiming at his head."
"Where did you hit him?" Shiner asked.
"In the head."
"Did he take you seriously after you shot him?"
Brazill did not respond.
"What did Mr. Grunow do when he fell to the ground?"
After a long pause and with tears welling up in his eyes, Brazill said, "What do you think he did?"
Udell, Brazill's defense attorney, told the jury during his closing arguments that Brazill was morally responsible for the shooting.
"We never said and I will not tell you that Nathaniel is not responsible for what happened here. His parents aren't at fault, the school is not at fault, the gun is not at fault. Nathaniel is at fault and only Nathaniel is at fault," Udell said in his summary statements.
He said Grunow was Brazill's favorite teacher, and that the teen did not intend to hurt him.
Udell urged the jury to consider Brazill's age.
"Any of you who have dealt with 13 year olds, or have one, know that they get stupid on us," Udell said.
One of the key pieces of evidence in the case was a videotape of the shooting from the school's security system.
The tape shows Brazill pointing the handgun at Grunow for about 11 seconds before cocking the weapon and then shooting the teacher. The tape also showed Brazill pointing the gun at another teacher as he ran away.
Jurors also saw Brazill make a videotaped confession to police after he was arrested.
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/05/16/teacher.shooting.04/index.html
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