Artegon is Long Gone

Posted on by Thor

I did a series of sketches when plans were made to open Artegon Market Place on International Drive. I was fascinated by the idea of a thriving market similar to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul Turkey. What appeared in the first weeks were a series of cages filling the empty space of a former mall. Those cages were eventually replaced with mini themed store fronts but the place felt fractured and cut up. I had been toying with the idea of renting a space in the market to sell my art because they promised low cost rents for artists to start. RV, a local artist rented a large gallery but soon left because of broken promises by the management.

Being across from many of International Drives Premium Outlet malls where tourists spend plenty of money before heading back home, I thought there might be a ready market. For whatever reason, the market place never thrived. The center first opened in 2003 as Festival Bay Mall, but that only lasted until 2011. Artegon opened in 2014. The place seemed cursed. In the open inner court area a large Aerial Adventure Course was built with rope bridges, zip lines, suspended disks. The first week the course was opened, Robert Belvoir, 52, fell 30 feet to his death.

Lightstone Group ended its two-year experiment to take the
“property in a new direction.” Bass Pro Shop and Cinemark Theaters remain open since their buildings aren’t owned by Lightstone. Artegon’s owner recouped its $25 million investment, selling
the properties for Bass Pro Shops and Cinemark Theaters for a combined
$30 million. In the Noor Salman trial, footage was shown of Pulse Nightclub shooter Omar Mateen buying ammunition for the rifle used in the Pulse Nightclub attack along with some candy from Bass Pro Shops in the weeks before the massacre.

NOT GUILTY verdict for Noor Salman

Posted on by Thor

On the third day of deliberations the jury in the trial of Noor Salman announced that they had a verdict. The media was alerted by the court with an e-mail. It said, “Judge Byron’s Chambers has
just notified us that the jury has reached its verdict. The verdict will
be published in open court in approximately 30 minutes. If you want to
hear the verdict you must be in either Courtroom 4B (if you have a red
media ticket) or in Courtroom 3A.” I asked the court’s media relations officer if I could get into courtroom 4B this one last time for the announcement. She agreed and I was given a blue ticket at the last moment when she was sure the room was not full, which allowed me to enter as a member of the public. I settled in quickly, put on my binocular glasses and focused only on Noor and her attorneys as the jury entered.

The verdict was handed to a clerk of the court and she read each count. The room grew silent. Noor listened with her hand to her mouth and tears in her eyes. She was found not guilty of obstruction of justice, and not guilty of aiding and abetting her husband in his plans to murder 49 people inside the Pulse Nightclub on June 12, 2016. She broke down and sobbed when she realized she had been cleared of all charges. Her uncle and a cousin seated two rows behind her also cried when they heard the news. They huddled together hugging as they sobbed. My side of the courtroom had victims’ families and survivors who were eerily silent and stone-faced. It was all over in a matter of 5 minutes. I only had enough time to scratch out the gesture of the attorney Fritz Scheller comforting Noor. I rushed back to my studio a few blocks away to finish up the sketch. I was one of the first people to exit the courtroom. The phalanx of TV cameras were waiting to hear the verdict first hand.

“Noor can go home now to her son, resume her life and try to pick up the
pieces from two years in jail,” The family spokeswoman Susan Clary
said, adding that the relatives were grateful for the verdict. Salman’s relatives and Clary said they were sorry for the victims and survivors. Defense attorney Linda Moreno also expressed admiration for the victims’ families and survivors.

“We’re
very grateful to this jury and to the Orlando community,” she said.
“Maybe this was the only community that could do this.”

The jury foremen felt the need to contact the media to explain the verdict that had been reached. “As foreperson of the jury in the Noor Salman trial I felt it
important that I present a juror’s perspective of the verdicts. I am
giving you my perspective, and not speaking for the entire jury. My
initial inclination was not to communicate with the news media at all,
however once I returned home and watched the news coverage of the
reactions to the verdicts I felt compelled to at least clarify several
misconceptions.

First, I want to express my deepest sympathy to
family and friends of the victims of this senseless tragedy. I
understand the desire to hold someone accountable for this heinous act
of violence. Omar Mateen is dead. He cannot be punished. It is only
logical the world would look next to Noor Salman.

These past few days have been very difficult. We listened
carefully to opening arguments, testimonies from both prosecution and
defense witnesses, viewed many exhibits and heard closing statements. We
received many pages of documentation from the court outlining very
specific instructions related to the charges and how we should apply the
law. We used these detailed instructions, our courtroom notes, and all
evidence presented by both sides in our deliberations.

Having said
that, I want to make several things very clear. A verdict of not guilty
did NOT mean that we thought Noor Salman was unaware of what Omar
Mateen was planning to do. On the contrary we were convinced she did
know. She may not have known what day, or what location, but she knew.
However, we were not tasked with deciding if she was aware of a
potential attack. The charges were aiding and abetting and obstruction
of justice. I felt that both the prosecution and the defense did an
excellent job presenting their case. I wish that the FBI had recorded
their interviews with Ms. Salman as there were several significant
inconsistencies with the written summaries of her statements. The bottom
line is that, based on the letter of the law, and the detailed
instructions provided by the court, we were presented with no option but
to return a verdict of not guilty.”

Closing Statements in the Noor Salman Trial

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 The court day began with Judge Paul G. Byron wanting to get a confirmation from Noor Salman that she did not want to testify in court. She spoke for the first time with a quiet “No.” Sarah Sweeney presented the prosecution’s closing statements. She would go through the several hundred items of evidence and use that to prove what Salman knew and what she did leading up to the attack. She said that everything Salman did was a green light for her husband to attack. Exhibits 1-99 covered Noor Salman’s written statements and evidence from her apartment. Exhibits 100-199 revolved around Pulse and the exhibits from 200 and up involved banking and spending.

The first part of the prosecution’s case involved proving obstruction of justice. She pointed out that Noor gave misleading information to Lieutenant William Hall, Agent Christopher Mayo, Agent T.J.Sypniewski, and Agent Ricardo Enriquez. She gave false statements and partial statements tat were intended to obscure the full truth. She claimed that Omar Mateen disconnected Facebook in 2013 and yet she communicated with him via Facebook in 2014. She claimed that her husband didn’t use the Internet in their apartment. She claimed that her husband was moderate, but an ISIS flag was found in the apartment and he had videos of be-headings on his computer. Mateen left their apartment on June 11, 2016 with a firearm but she claimed he only had one gun. Yet she knew there was a riffle case in their car since she wanted it removed before she took her drivers test. She lied twice saying he was at dinner with Nemo on June11, 2016. The broadest lie was that she didn’t know he was going to plan a terrorist attack.

Sweeney changed tack from everything said during the course of the trial saying that the target of the attack that night was NOT the Pulse Nightclub but rather Disney Springs. She also claimed that Noor knew the target was Disney. That would explain Noor’s odd comment when Lieutenant William Hall asked her to leave her apartment for questioning. She said, “Are they going to bring me to Disney?” Sweeney also claimed that Noor was confused during questioning and thought that Pulse was at Disney. When Noor could not reach her husband on the night of June11, 2016, she knew that he had committed the attack.

The couples finances consisted of an average monthly credit card bill of $1500. But From June 5 to 15, 2016 the couple spent $26,000. There were gaps in Mateen’s Internet browsing activity between 2:09a.m. and 9a.m. in which he might have shown his wife his intended target although it might not have been Pulse. Google history ended on his computer on June 10, 2016 and started again on June 12, 2016 with his search for Eve. 

Proving aiding and abetting was the prosecution’s biggest challenge. They needed to show that Noor provided material support to ISIS.  Showing Omar’s material support was easy. Sweeney showed a still from the Pulse surveillance camera that showed Omar shooting people at point blank range. But did Noor provide the same support as she slept at home?

The defense closing arguments by Charles Swift brought up some new points in Noor’s defense. A baby carriage and doll were found by Omar Mateen’s rental van parked near Pulse. But his son is too old for such a carriage. The new theory was that Omar intended to use the baby carriage to transport his rifle into Disney Springs without raising suspicion. If that were the case and Noor was an accomplice, wouldn’t it make more sense to have her push the baby carriage? Was she a victim or accomplice? Swift argued Mateen had no reason to involve his wife in his plan
to carry out mass murder June 12, 2016. “Why would he tell her?” he said. “I cannot think of an earthly reason for
it. I cannot think of one. What could she help him with?”

The defense acknowledged the heartbreaking grief of the community but reminded the jury to look at all the facts. Defense attorney Lisa Morino reminded the jury that Noor simply struggled educationally. She painted a picture of her as a simple housewife who loved her
child and was more concerned with reading romance novels that in world
politics.That she could not accept money for baby sitting a friends child. Pulse she stressed was a random target. “Where are all the girls at?” Omar asked the Pulse security, meaning he didn’t know where he was. Omar didn’t respect his wife. Why would he confide in her? She was dependent on him not the other way around. If he didn’t know what his target was that night, how could she know? The dead have been given the truth in this trial. The tragedy shouldn’t be pinned on Noor. The true terrorist was already killed by police on the evening of the attack. “Don’t makeNoor Salman the last victim of Omar Mateen.” Swift concluded.


After closing statements, Judge Byron read the 57 pages of jury instructions. Basically they had to decide on two counts. One was obstruction of justice and the other was aiding and abetting.

The jury instructions said convicting Salman “Requires proof that
(she was) intentionally associated with or participated in the crime,
not just proof that (she) was simply present at the scene of a crime or
knew about it.” The help can be just
about anything including, “financial services, lodging, safe houses,
false documentation or identification, communications equipment,
facilities and weapons.” If convicted, Noor could face life in prison.

Defense Witnesses Took the Stand in Quick Succession

Posted on by Thor

Delvas Salman is the Uncle of Noor Salman. He has lived in Rodeo California since 1971. He spoke of Noor with affection. When he recalled when she introduced Omar Mateen to the family he remembered saying to him, “I trust you with my niece.” He got choked up with that memory and had to take a sip of water to recover his composure. Most of Mr. Salman’s testimony painted a picture of his niece as a simple and caring woman. Noor was in an arranged marriage with an abusive man before she married Omar.

Mustafa Abasin is Omar Mateen’s brother in law, married to Mateen’s sister. He was close to Noor Salman because he has children around the same age as her son. Since she didn’t have a drivers license, he would sometimes drive her places.  He said when he talked with her on the car rides it was more like having a conversation with a child.

Noor would offer to watch his children and she refused to take money for the service. She just liked taking care of kids. When she and her son were escorted to the FBI offices to be interrogated, she didn’t know she would be there as long as she was. She was interrogated for over 11 hours. Mustafa was the family member who drove to the FBI offices to pick up her son when he grew restless. Mustafa stopped inn back of the building and walked up to ring the bell. Her son was in a separate room from his mother. The FBI agent said, “She stays.” Many hours later when Noor came to pick up her son at Mustafa’s home, she was visibly upset. She was concerned about her son, fearing that she would loose him because of threads and implications from the FBI agents who spoke to her.

FBI Agent Kubini Martin was invited to the stand as a hostile witness by the defense. He was part of the original investigation team. He stated that Saddiqui Mateen, Omar’s dad was an  FBI informant from 2006 to 2016. As an informant it is kind of insane that he would have no idea of his son’s obsession with ISIS and hisplanned violence of Jihad. Saddiqui claimed ties to Al Qaeda, a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, as well as Hezbollah, a Shi’a Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon.

The FBI launched its first assessment of Omar Mateen in 2013 after he
had allegedly boasted to co-workers at G4S, a security company, that he
had terrorist connections. The FBI reported that it had closed the
investigation after Mateen told agents he made the comment to scare his
co-workers, who were reportedly mocking his religion. One year after closing that first assessment, the FBI opened a second,
spurred by Mateen’s relationship with Moner Mohammad Abusalha, a Florida
man who became the first American suicide bomber in Syria.
Mateen and Abusalha attended the same mosque on Florida’s Atlantic
coast. The FBI, decided that Mateen’s contact with Abusalha was minimal,
closed that assessment as well. The FBI considered turning the younger Mateen into an FBI informant after they investigated him in 2013 and 2014.

Noor was in the house for each of the interviews by the FBI.  She served refreshments including a cake that the agent admitted was delicious. She left the first interview but was there for most of the last interview. Saddique Mateen showed up at that interview as well. The agent speculated about why Saddique had shown up. Had Noor called him? There is also speculation that the investigations might have been shut down because Saddique as an informant told them that they should not be concerned with the actions of his son.

Joshua Horowitz is a cyber forensic consultant. He described Incognito Mode, which allows users who don’t want Google Chrome to remember their activity, to browse the web privately. Omar Mateen last used incognito mode on June 6, 2016 at 9:06 AM. Most of Omar’s searches of ISIS and other terrorist organizations however were done in plain sight. Noor Salman had confessed that on June 10, 2016, Omar showed her the Pulse website on his computer and said, “That is my target.” Joshua was tasked with looking at all the digital devices of Noor and Omar and he came to the conclusion that there is no evidence that Omar showed Noor the Pulse website on June 10th.

He had 3 computers to review along with 4 cell phones and a tablet. Of those devices only a Dell computer and 2 Samsung phones were relevant to the case. The Dell computer had never visited the Pulse website. Incognito mode doesn’t mask web traffic to sites IP addresses. He confirmed that the computer never accessed the Pulse website server. The two cell phone never accessed the Pulse website prior to June 12, 2016. Noor Salman’s phone never visited the Pulse website. Around the time Noor claimed that Omar showed her the Pulse website, he was actually at work.


Richard Connor has done digital forensics since 2006. He performed the forensics on the cell phones of Omar and Noor. He used cell phone tower information and google maps on Omar’s phone to track his activities that night. 

Around 10 a.m. Omar went to Disney Springs. It is possible that this was his intended target that night. Video surveillance showed Omar walking alone through Disney Springs to House of Blues where he brought a t shirt which he later dis-guarded. There was a large police presence near House of Blues that night. Omar left and drove past Epcot. At 12:22 a.m. he searched for Orlando Nightclubs and he put Eve into his goggle maps to get directions too the downtown Orlando Club. Mateen got near EVE (110 South Orange Avenue) about 12:55 a.m. That club had significant security at the entrance and each guest is searched before they can enter.

He did another search in Google for Orlando Nightclubs and found Pulse which he put into google maps. The exact audio directions in that female voice played in the courtroom for Omar’s every move that night. He seemed to drive aimlessly around downtown Orlando and then he drove right past my downtown apartment building before turning south on Summerlin Avenue. He arrived at Pulse around 1:12 and 1:16 a.m. at Pulse, drove around a bit and then at 1:33 a.m. he did another Google search for Eve. He started to head in that direction at 1:34 a.m. but then turned around one minute later and went back to Pulse. He started ignoring the audio  directions he was getting. At 2 a.m. he fired the first shots into helpless victims at the club who were dancing and celebrating after the evenings last call for drinks. The phone in his pocket was still giving him verbal directions as he killed 49 people.

Defense Witnesses in the Noor Salman Case

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 After the prosecution rested its case, the defense had a day in which they presented witnesses in the N case. The first witness was Omar Mateen‘s friend Nemo. I did a rather good sketch of him but unfortunately Judge Byron insisted that the sketch must not be published to protect the witnesses identity. Omar would use Nemo as an excuse when he went out to meet older women with whom he had affairs. On June 11, 2016, the evening of the attack, Omar’s mom became concerned since her son had promised to stop by her house and he never showed up. Noor texted Omar that he should use the excuse that he was with Nemo. Omar’s mom however ended up meeting Nemo’s mom at the mosque that night and the mom explained that her son Nemo was away at a medical college in the Caribbean. Omar’s mom kept trying to reach her son on the night of the attack. Nemo would work out with Omar at the gym where Omar would brag about the affairs he was having.

Two women took the stand in short order. I sketched both but later had to surrender the sketches to a U.S. Marshal. The first woman knew Omar for a year and a half. She said she didn’t know Omar was married but did know that he had a child. When asked if she had a romantic relationship with him she paused. The defense showed her Internet messages between herself and Omar and she then admitted that she did make out with him once in her car near his guard booth.The second woman met Omar on the dating site, Plenty of Fish. She invited Omar to her apartment and seemed more open about the fact that she had a relationship with him. The relationship ended when Omar told her that he could not be with her because she was Jewish. His family would not approve. There was high tension in the courtroom because the women had to admit their romantic affairs right in from of Noor who was seated about five yards away.

Dali Achmed started to cry when she saw her friend Noor at the defense table. She wore a hijab. She talked to Noor on June 11, 2016 on the phone. Noor was excited about her planned trip to California. She would always talk about her child. The two women grown up together but had grown apart as they grew older. Of course loving on opposite coasts made staying close harder.

Laurie Jaber was a friend of Noor’s. She had been a brides maid at her wedding to Omar Mateen. They last spoke on June 8, 2016 the day that Noor was approved to get her Florida drivers license. She spoke about how Noor took a job at a grocery store as a cashier. She didn’t like having to deal with the constant math of handing back change so she asked for a transfer. She started working on the docks with inventory working much harder for less pay.

Officer Steve Brown was considered by Omar to be a mentor and a bit of a brother figure. He knew Omar to be a rather conservative in his ways, but was a member of the Democratic party because Democrats could accept his religion. Omar joked around that he liked the homosexual community because they were like pit bulls who stood up for themselves. Defense attorney Charles Swift began asking questions bout Steve’s own views about homosexuals. He towed the line, but then Charles produced Internet messages between Steve and Omar. The officer read the messages and didn’t remember making those statement but they were right there on paper. It was clear that his comments were derogatory. The testimony was probably intended to show that Omar didn’t not attach the Pulse nightclub because he hated homosexuals. Knowing that officers were joking with a mass murderer before the massacre isn’t very reassuring. Attacking the homophobic officer didn’t really help the case, but it was quite dramatic.

Local media seemed to deliver a single homologous caricatured view of the proceedings from inside the courtroom. After the Casey Anthony case they banded together to settle on a single viewpoint when a case gets big. This single mindedness has the obvious drawback of limiting options when covering a story. A very conservative blogger sat next to me for a few minutes in the media room and was escorted out of the building by a US Marshal. The day before she harassed relative of Noor as they walked back to their cars. Judge Byron wrote a media release stating that she could not return to the courthouse. She came back the next day anyway and had to be escorted from the building. Since I was not permitted in the courtroom, I identified with her Facebook Live broadcasts in which she claimed her first amendment rights were being violated. However I needed to stick to every demand of the court so I  could best document the case from as close as I could get. Even closed doors can be a creative challenge.

A Day Without a Jury or Defendant in the Noor Salman Trail

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 One day of the trial had no jury or defendant. Noor Salman had the day off. The courtroom 4B rules were relaxed and I was permitted to sit inside courtroom 4B as a member of the public. I was issued a blue slip and told to sit on the court right general public spectator benches.  The day was spent going over a laundry list of what the jury must consider when coming to a verdict. The jury would have to be  unanimous on the charge that Noor aided and abetted her husband Omar Mateen in the mass murder committed at Pulse Nightclub. The prosecution went over a list of what items would be considered aiding and abetting.

1. Noor texted Omar on the night of the attack and told him to tell his mom that he is out with Nemo. This cover story made it seem like Noor was covering for her husband’s actions.

2. The “casing” activities at City Place in West Palm Beach  on June 4-5, 2016. The timeline for this activity was later debunked with cell phone data. There was not enough time for the casing to have occurred. It was still a strange trip to take very late at night with their son Zac who usually went to bed by 9 PM.

3. A May 31, 2016 purchase of ammunition for Omar’s work firearm at Walmart Supercenter. Noor and her son Zac were on that shopping trip. The prosecution wanted to imply that she encouraged the purchase. Omar’s work firearm was not used in the Pulse Nightclub attack.

4. The fact that Noor knew about the new rifle gun case in the family car, because she didn’t want it in the car when she took her driving test. The prosecution claimed that she was getting a Florida driver’s license for the first time because she knew Omar would not be around to drive after the Pulse attack, and the defense said she wanted to be able to drive to bring her son to school.

5. On June 8, 2016, four days before the attack, Noor got her license, shopped at bass Pro shop where Omar got Ammo, went to the Florida Mall where Omar bought her some very expensive jewelry. The woman who sold them the ring noticed a tear in Noor’s eye. Was she happy or sad? The purchase of the over $7000 ring was considered an enticement to lie or
at least not tip off authorities to what Omar was about to do.They then went to Disney Springs, an Arab Restaurant and a mosque. It was on this night that the prosecutors though Noor and Omar went to Pulse but there wasn’t enough time to drive around for 20 minutes.

6. The excessive spending in the month of June leading up to the attack.

7. Omar made Noor a beneficiary of his savings and checking accounts in the event of his death.

The prosecution would have to prove to the jury that Noor knew of Omar’s intent to mass murder innocent civilians with his act of Jihad. They wanted to stress that she was at a repeated series of very important junctures leading up to the attack.  Going to the gun range was a red flag for prosecutors. She told no one about the purchase of the rifle.

The defense countered that the prosecution provided no evidence that Noor knew what “the Act” was going to be. There is no evidence that she supports ISIS. During the course of the trial holes were poked in each of Noor’s six statements written by FBI agent and signed by her. Since she and Omar never went to Pulse before, it seemed to imply that FBI agents had planted information in her testimony.

The afternoon was spent going over the instructions for the jury. Each paragraph was meticulously picked apart to be sure both prosecutors and the defense were satisfied with the wording.

Noor did not plan to testify and the jury would be instructed not to consider this as a presumption of guilt. The jurors would have to weigh the testimony from each witness. They would have to consider the circumstances and weather the witness was credible or reliable. They would need to consider the witnesses age, and training.

Omar provided material support to the Islamic state. Did Noor intend to aid in the material support of ISIS? The prosecution wanted to point out that aiding and abetting can be done with a happy heart, or a sense of foreboding. Did she intend to bring about the crime? On the count of Obstruction of justice, did Noor mislead FBI agents with the statement she made on the morning after the Pulse Nightclub attack. Dis she knowingly leave things out of her statements? Once someone chooses to testify, they must do so truthfully. The venue for the obstruction of justice charge was Central Florida. Since Noor lived in Fort Pierce, the prosecutors needed to prove that her statement were intended to mislead investigators in Central Florida.

The instructions acted as a framework for the jury’s deliberations.

The last 3 Prosecution Witnesses.

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 FBI Special Agent Richard Fennern used cell phone tower data to track Omar Mateen and Noor Salman‘s locations on the days leading up to the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. In a stunning turn of events he had to conceded that neither hone had been anywhere near Pulse Prior to the evening of the attack. The couple had gone to Disney Springs with their son, after shopping Omar went with his son to a mosque and Noor went to King O’ Falafel. Given the locations of the cell phones and the times, it became clear that the couple never actually had time to drive around Pulse for 20 minutes as Noor claimed.

Judge Paul G. Byron stopped the proceedings to find out when the prosecution had known this fact. The judge had overruled a possible bail for Noor leading up to the trial largely because the prosecution kept hammering away at Noor’s testimony which stated that she and Omar has driven around Pulse with the windows down for 20 minutes in the weeks before the attack. The prosecution confessed that they knew that the testimony was false only a week after the attack. They even used the false confession in the trial itself.

The defense asked that Noor be released on bail considering that the prosecution had with held evidence. They might have taken a different form of defense had they known that the phone data confirmed that neither Noor or Omar had ever been to Pulse prior to June 2, 2016. Another bomb shell was the revelation that Omar’s dad was an FBI informant, and that he is now under investigation for sending money to Afghanistan and Turkey presumably to help in attacks on Pakistan. Suddenly  Seddique Mateen seems a more likely co-conspirator in the Pulse attack. The request by the defense was denied.

Most of the day’s testimony from Fenner went over Omar’s many ISIS searches on the Internet and the spending spree in the week before the attack. Cross examination showed that Omar’s parents were on the Disney Springs trip. Noor texted Omar when she wanted to buy sun glasses. Since Omar was the family provider, he didn’t have to ask when he purchased ammo, a rifle and a Glock handgun. Noor did know the rifle was in back of the family car since she wanted the gun removed before she took her driving test. Video was shown of Omar Mateen purchasing the SIG Sauer MCX assault riffle. Menacingly he looked down the length of the rifle multiple times perhaps imagining his future targets.

Michael McFarlan was an FBI electronics engineer for the last 6.5 years. He looked dapper in his blue bow tie. He holds a BA in computer engineering and computer science. He looked over all the text message information and analyzed the Facebook information. If data had been removed from the devices, the information would not immediately be overwritten. During his testimony a photo was shown of Noor at a bank machine withdrawing money.

Steve McCabe went over the couples finances and tax information. Between June 1 and 13, 2016 the couple spent $26,632.22 on their credit cards. Expenses included…

Saint Lucie Gun Sales  $1837.29

Kay Jewelers  $7,552.49

Kay Jewelers $1,165.49

Take out food $1,002.56

Gun Range $3,749.32

In previous years he had spent about $231 at the gun range.

The average expenses between 2010 and 2015 were about $1,556.60 per month. The June 2016 expenses were 26,532,22. In June $7,206.70 was withdrawn from the PNC bank account.

Noor’s name was not on the credit card. She had no access to the PNC bank account although she was made a beneficiary should Omar die. She did not get $32,000 on June 11, 2016. She would likely be deeply in debt if she were not behind bars. Her son Zac is with her grand parents during the trail.

A Tech Trail leading up to Mass Murder

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 Kim Rosencrans is an FBI Information Technology Specialist. He is part of the computer response team called CART. He analyzed the date recovered from Omar Mateen‘s Cellphone. Starting on May 20, 2016 he noticed Google searches for ISIS. On May 21, 2016 there was a search at 6:27 PM for ISIS Spit Face. This article urged Muslims to “Spit in their face and run over them with your cars.” On May 22nd, Omar viewed a video in which an ISIS spokesman urged Ramadan attacks in Europe and America. On May 27th he was searching for firearms, at the online Brass Pro Shop. he also did a search for the Saint Lucy Shooting Center and he read about the Paris Terrorist attacks. On May 28th he went to LiveLeak.com and looked at an Orange Jump Suit ISIS video. In that video ISIS put people on Orange jumpsuits and executed them. He searched for cheap flights to Istanbul, Turkey. He also began researching the FBI along with Disney live Web Cams. He read an article about a terrorist who deliberately shut off his phone for several hours to drop off the FBI’s radar right before an attack.

In June, 2016 he read an article about 9 ways that people are being spied on every day.

1, License plate readers.

2. Sidewalk Cameras

3. Public transportation.

4. Credit and Loyalty Cards.

5. On the phone.

6. While watching TV.

7. Sitting at your computer.

8. Sending and receiving e-mails.

9. Surfing the Internet.

You might think Omar would leave no trail given his research, but he was lazy leaving behind a clear road map of his every move.

In June he began researching how the FBI was entrapping suspects in the ISIS war. In a shocking revelation in court it was uncovered the Omar’s Dad was an FBI Informant from 2005 to 2016. Omar was questioned by the FBI in 2013 for bragging to co workers at his security company that he had ties to ISIS. The FBI gave up on him as a suspect perhaps because his father was an informant. In one of the “scouting” videos at Disney Springs, Noor can be seen holding Zac on her hip and then the defense pointed out another man in a blue shirt. That man was Omar’s dad who was also “scouting” the location. He thumbed through shirts hanging on a rack, while Noor took photos of her son. 

Noor texted Omar…

N.  I told your parents you are paying for Cali with points from PNC and your job.

O.  K

N.  I’ll be waiting. 😊

On June 11, 2016 Omar had plenty of ISIS searches on his phone. He powered off his phone going dark until just before the Pulse Nightclub attack. Noor texted…

N.  She (Omar’s mom) asked where you were. XOXO

N.  What time does everyone go to Mosque.

N.  If your mom calls say Nemo invited you out and Noor wants to stay home.

N.  Call your mom she is worried.

N. Love you.

N. Sabrina stopped by.

N. Getting my food to go.

N. Told mom I didn’t have the car.

N. Wanted to stay home LOL.

N. I’m home XOXO.

Omar was Googling Disney Springs on the evening of June 11, 2016 and could be seen on security footage at Disney springs. There was a large police presence at the Disney shopping area that night. Just past midnight Omar took a 17 second phone call from his mom. Omar left Disney and started searching for Downtown Orlando Nightclubs.

Noor sent Omar a text…

N.  Omar call me. We are so very worried. Please call me.

N.  Habibi where are you?

N.  Where are you?

O.  Everything OK?

N.  Your mom is worried and so am I. You know you have to work tomorrow right?

O.  You heard what happened?

N.  ????

N.  What happened?

O.  I love you babe.

N.  Habibi what happened?

FBI Counter Terrorism Information Technology Specialist Stephen Boise discussed information found on Noor Salman’s cell phone. He habitually reached up to touch the knot of his tie when he answered questions. On the evening of the Pulse Nightclub attack she was at home shopping for leather jackets. Omar had lavished many gifts on her in the weeks leading up to the attack running up over $26,000 in credit card dept. The family usually spent $1,556 on credit cards each month.

It was noted that Noor and Omar were friends on Facebook. I am amazed that this is considered important information in a mass murder trial. but Facebook photos of Noor were helpful to show that she had a wedding ring although Omar spent over $7000 on another ring in the days before the attack. Noor deleted messages on the night of the attack. Charles Swift on cross examination of Boise, asked the agent if Noor regularly deleted texts. Of the 2000 pages of texts he had researched, he couldn’t decide if she regularly deleted texts. He did not want to conceded that she might do this as habit rather than s a sure sign of guilt. There were no Islamic extremist posts from Noor no political posts. There were no searches for Pulse, guns, Disney Springs or the FBI on her phone. 

Omar and Noor’s Web of Finances

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 In the morning, Nemo‘s mother took the stand. She could not be sketched. FBI agent Jeff Etter is a computer forensic examiner. He graduated from Troy University and works out of the Miami Fort Lauderdale area. He analyzed the computers inside the home of Omar Mateen and Noor Salman. Both computers showed activity of a program called Sea Cleaner which removes data. Even if data had been removed there would still be artifacts until the data was overwritten by something new. Another way data could be hidden is via Chrome Incognito Mode. Omar’s password was Ocean1986.

Etter testified the date on one of the
computers was modified to reflect all of its context were dated a day
behind. It was established that much of the Internet browsing was
done in “incognito mode,” so that the Internet history wasn’t recorded,
but many visits to radical websites were recorded. If Omar was trying to hide his tracks, he was lazy about it. The endless searched to Jihadi web sites were conducted late at night by Mateen.

Exhibit 14 was submitted into evidence. It was a photo of Omar Mateen and Noor Salman  smiling together at a shooting range. The photograph was recovered from the couples apartment.

Shelly M. Morgan was a witness who was the assistant bracnch manager at PNC Bank on the day Omar Mateen and Noor Salman went in to put her as the beneficiary of his checking and savings account in case of his death. She described her meeting with the couple. There was some discussion of having Noor as the joint account holder, but her outstanding college loans would have put the account in jeopardy. This action by the couple implied that there was a premeditated attempt to take care of Noor after Omar committed his violent act of Jihad in Orlando.

Rose Von Brezel a Kay Jewelers manager, helped sell Omar and Noor an engagement ring and a diamond wedding band for $8,623 on June 6, 2016 just 6 days before the deadly shooting. Rose remembered seeing tears in Noor’s eyes. She couldn’t tell if this was sadness or happiness. Salman seemed focused on buying just the right ring in the style she likes while Mateen seemed agitated. A store surveillance video showed the couple at the counter and their son Zac took a step back and then another step back as they discussed the purchase. He then ran off into the mall and Omar had to chase him down. Despite the serious nature of the testimony it was hard not to laugh at their son’s antics.

Later in the trial a photo was shown of Noor from Facebook showing that she already had a diamond wedding ring. These purchases therefor seemed to further support the idea that Omar was arranging items that Noor could later sell to help survive after he was killed in his act of Jihad.

T.J. Sypniewski was the Special Agent who assisted Ricardo Enriques in the interrogation of Noor Salman. He has been with the FBI for 22 years and does polygraph interrogations. About 8:45 AM on June 12, 2016 he started his interview with Noor Salman at the FBI headquarters. He didn’t notice Noor sleeping on the floor which had been noticed by FBI agent Enriquez. T.J. introduced himself and decided that he would break the news that Noor’s Husband Omar Mateen was dead. She looked away and didn’t say anything. She didn’t ask questions.

He began asking questions. She had attended  college, but didn’t graduate. She brought up religion saying that she and Mateen were not extremist but somewhere in the middle. he noted that she was actively listening understanding what he was saying what he said. Her son was getting restless so the agent suggested that she have a relative pick him up.Mustafa picked up her son and she remained to answer questions.

Noor explained that her husband could not have died in a violent act because he had just paid the bills. he also had just purchased air plane tickets to San Francisco. She could not have known what he was going to do because she had just bought him a fathers day present. She denied going to a shooting range, but when told that the FBI would be going to all the shooting ranges in the area, she lowered her head and admitted that she had gone once. She also indicated that she was never physically abused by her husband.

Three statements were read, and Salman said they were true. “I brought ammunition with my husband one time for the handgun.” she said. The interview ended at 10:15AM on June 12, 2016. She did not ask to go home according to the agent. At 10:30 Am Noor signed the consent forms which stated her Miranda rights. The defense wanted to imply that agent Enriquez had been interviewing Noor for two hours before she was given Miranda forms to sign. The fact that the interviews were not recorded was covered by the defense. The agent stated that it was common practice to only record interviews after someone has been arrested. Since Noor was not under arrest, they could not record the interview. He has never recorded an interview outside of arrest. It isn’t the FBI’s policy to do so.

Agent T.J. Sypniewski was not a case agent in the Pulse Nightclub massacre. After this day, he had no other involvement. It was established that Noor was eating lunch, Jimmy Johns between the two interviews.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Duel Valentine has worked in the Counter Terrorism unit for 7 years. He sat in with Special Agent Getz and Noor Salman of a short time on the morning of June 12, 2016. He was just there to sit with them. Noor approached him and wanted to get her husbands death certificate. With the certificate she felt she could get certain debts waved. She said she tried to stop him. She was concerned that she couldn’t get a job after the attack and that she would have to raise her son alone. She didn’t know what to tell her son about what his father had done.

Agent Ricardo Enriquez testified about early interviews with Noor Salman

Posted on by Thor

There is some sensitive content and disturbing details included
within. If you feel you may be affected, please do not read this post.

 Ricardo Enriquez is a polygraph expert for the FBI. He never actually did a polygraph on Noor Salman although she had agreed to have one done. The defense argued that since the polygraph wasn’t done, the testimony would be irrelevant. They felt that just the prejudicial effect would be enormous on the jury but Judge Byron allowed the testimony.

Special Agent Mayo said that Noor wanted to go home at one point, but her home was being searched. At 11 AM on June 12, 2016 Noor was found sleeping on the floor of the FBI interrogation room. She didn’t say that she wanted to go anywhere else. Her uncle came to pick up her son Zack. When the uncle asked if she could come home, he was told that there were additional questions that the FBI wanted to ask her. She agreed to stay. She asked agent Enriquez, “What will happen to my son?” He said, “It isn’t up to me.” Enriquez asked Noor questions and then memorialized her responses by writing what she said and then having her read what he write an then initial the start end end of each sentence. By doing this each sentence would be confirmed as being true and it would not be possible to add anything to the statements since they were initialed. She would dictate and he would write. She said that she was too nervous to write the statements herself.

Omar asked Noor, “Where would the next terrorist attack make a big splash?” What I find odd is that no one asked Noor what her response was to her husbands outlandish statements. “Omar bought a gun 4 days ago and put it in the trunk of the car. He said it was for work.” She made quite a few statements about Omar’s spending, to summarize, in the last days he spent a lot of money for instance buying her a $7000 wedding ring although she already had a ring. He spent $300 on clothing and brought a lot of toys for their son. He also spent money on take out and restaurant food in the final weeks. He sent $80 on ammo in Vero Beach. He withdrew $1000 from his PNC Bank account and gave it to her. Omar also made her a beneficiary on his checking and savings account. Because of this she thought he was considering a violent act. “I often worry he was going to commit an act of violence or terrorism.” she said.

Driving around City Place, he said, “How bad would it be if City Place got attacked?” Later testimony from a digital forensic expert however indicated that there was no time for this “Staking” of City Place. Omar Mateen asked her, “What would make people more upset, an attack on Disney, or an attack on a club?” “I knew.” she said. For the last 2 years Omar had talked about doing Jihad. He said if he did jihad, everybody would know who he is. “How upset are people going to be when it gets attacked?” She mentioned driving around Pulse for 20 minutes with the windows down, but again digital forensics proved that this staking of Pulse was not possible in the time allotted. Agents interviewing Noor claimed that she had not been told about Pulse or prompted in any way. But this shifting story indicated she might have been fed statements by agents.

Noor said that on June 10, 2016 late at night, Omar was looking at a website for the Pulse Nightclub and when she saw what he was looking at he said, “This is my target.” She knew that the time of the

attack on the cub was close. Digital forensic disproved that this exchange about viewing the Pulse website actually happened. On Saturday June 11, 2016 before Omar left their apartment he asked her if he looked Spanish. He was pumped up. He had his ammunition backpack and gun. She asked the agent an odd question at the end of their interview. She said, “When do I get my money?”

The defense pointed out that on June 12, 2016 at about 1:30PM the Sentinel reported that Omar Mateen was a terrorist. It is possible that the FBI agents saw this report on they morning they interviewed Noor. The defense asked what time Agent Ricardo got up that morning. He could not remember the exact time but they narrowed it down to between 8 AM and 9 AM. That morning he looked at the news on his computer perhaps Fox News or ABC. Then her drove to the FBI headquarters to interview Noor. No one asked if she approved of the purchase of a rifle. She dis complain that she didn’t want it in the back of the family car when she took her driving test.

She said in a written statement that Omar Mateen was driving to City Place and got there around 1 AM. She was a passenger. They drove around with the windows down for about 45 minutes. He was driving around slowly looking at the clubs at City Place. While driving, he said, “How bad would it be if a club got attacked?” Defense attorney Charles Swift asked the impotent question, “What was her response?” Why didn’t agents ask if she agreed or disagreed with the statement by her husband? So many of her written comments were confessions of knowledge of her husbands long standing extremist views but they were not confessions of participation. Did she encourage her husbands actions that resulted in 49 lives lost in Orlando? This is what the jury will ultimately have to decide.

Noor decided to hand write a statement on her own at the end of the long night of questioning. She wrote, “I’m sorry for not truthful in the start about what Omar was planning.” The grammar and diction of this written statement is very different that what agents wrote for her. It is standard FBI practice that interviews are not recorded unless the person has been charged with a crime. So the agents were not authorized to record Noor’s statements