After Pulse: Bryan Batien

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Bryan Batien is a psychologist at the Orlando Veterans Administration Medical Center. After the Pulse nightclub massacre the Orlando VA offered significant volunteer counseling to members of the community, victims families and survivors.

The morning after the Pulse nightclub shooting Brian’s wife turned on the TV. News of the shooting was on all of the channels. They sat and watched all of the updates, feeling helpless. His wife is also a psychologist and they are used to working with trauma so they knew how devastating this would be for the community. They both wanted to help. They both work with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and realized this might trigger some of the vets they work with. They realized there might be a flood of people going to the Lake Nona clinic.

He texted his chief of psychology and said he could go into the VA if needed. Half an hour later he got a text back about the emergency response team. Bryan had been to the Institute of Disaster Mental Health so he and his wife had training in psychological first aid and responding to disasters and emergencies. The text response asked if he could get to the Hampton Inn in 45 minutes. This is where the families of victims and survivors were meeting. He had no idea what he would be doing at the location.

The Va sent several giant buses that can be used as portable offices and medical exam rooms. Families were there because they could not get a hold of their loved ones. Families were starting to collect there and waited, not knowing. A briefing was vague, they were asked to do what they can and answer questions. Give people water, guide them if they don’t know where to go. Just be there if people need to talk. As they identified the victims,  both in the hospital and deceased, they slowly figured out how to notify families. That went on throughout the night.

The second day they went to the Beardall Center and the process was much the same. They pulled in families one at a time, and the psychologists would be there with the family. Families saw other families come out of those rooms, so they suspected the outcome. But there is always the hope that their loved on was recovering in the hospital.

This was the first time he had to be involved in giving death notifications. The first time he entered one of the rooms with a family, he didn’t know what to expect. After being told, the family would be in the room for quite a while.  When hope was shattered there would be a floodgate of emotion, grief, sadness, loss, and pain. It took a long time to get to a place where they could leave. As a psychologist he is used to working towards a goal, but here, he could do nothing. The process became a blur.

 

 

ODD at Lake Eola Wine Company

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ODD (Orlando Drink and Draw) is a monthly sketch event I host where I invite artists to go to a different bar each month. There is no model and no instruction, it is just a chance to get out and meet other artists while working on a sketch. I was living near Lake Eola and Eola Wine Company (430 E. Central Blvd Orlando, FL 32801) was just a block from my studio, so this was a convenient location to hang out and sketch.

I ordered a red wine and sketched the length of the bar. It was early in the evening so the place was just starting to fill up. There is a certain refined atmosphere to the place as patrons sip glasses of red wine rather than mugs of beer. Well, they do have beers, but wine is the usual drinks of choice. This was a rare evening where no other artists came out for the night. I think the prospect of downtown parking scares off artists. Regardless, I had fun blocking in my sketch and when done, I simply walked the block or so back to my studio.

The next night, I was interviewed by Pam Schwartz of the Orange County Regional History Center about my experiences in the weeks following the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Since that night, she tends to join me on many of these types of sketch outings. I tend to keep my head in the sketch for the entire hour or two until it is done, so she can chat with artists or patrons while I work and when I am done, I join the conversations. For me this is the best of both worlds, I get absolute focus and then come up for air and enjoy the company of the artists around me.

The 49 Mural Roundtable Meeting

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Mural artist Michael Pilato came to Orlando from Happy Valley, PA shortly after the Pulse Nightclub massacre to create a mural as tribute to the 49 who were murdered on the evening of June 12, 2016. He introduced the idea of the World Mural project which would have murals around the world in places that had experienced tragedy. He attended my 49 portrait creation project at Falcon Bar and from that he imagined a group of artists working together to bring the mural to life. For his mural to be a success he needed public awareness so this round table was formed to get people on board to help with his vision. 

 Besides the painted mural he wanted a viewer to be able to point their smart phone at an individual and a 3d rendering would appear of the person walking off the surface and telling their story. Several people from a computer graphics company in Vancouver were at the meeting to explain how this tech might work. I tried on a headset and was able to walk around in a recreation of a civil war battleground. I walked up to the end of a cannon and looked down inside the barrel. It was possible to walk around soldiers as they prepared to fire the cannon. Such interactive tech is inspiring but in the end the mural just needed old fashioned brush and paint to be created.


Chimene Pindar Hurst first asked Michael to

create a mural in Orlando. Chimene’s father took on he roll of keeping the round table committee on track. Michael’s mural partner, Yurly Karabash arrived and the mural really started to take shape. I contributed 4 portraits of victims, recreating the portraits I had done on the evening that the 49 portraits were created. In the restructuring of the mural, all 4 of my contributions were painted over and replicas were painted in other sections sort of in my style.


Besides my small contribution to the mural, I also was hired by Michael to create several renderings that showed a new vision for Lake Beauty right next to

Orlando Regional Medical Center where all survivors who had been shot were taken and treated on that fateful night. The medical center is just a few blocks north of the Pulse Nightclub and because of that some lives could be saved. I went to the lake and drew the setting on location and then returned to the studio to make the changes to the setting that Michael envisioned. 49 plaques had been placed around a fountain already in the victims honor. the trouble with this otherwise peaceful lake is that it is right next to the very busy Orange Avenue.


Michael imagined a series of arching walls covered in greenery. Misters would soak the air cooling the area around the fountain. At night lights hidden in the greenery would light up with all the colors of the rainbow. The mist would soften the lights at night. A lower level path path was imagined that would literally be below the lake surface in spots with water cascading over the clear Plexiglas walls. Colorful plaques were imagined across the lake and a tiny gnome village might appear among the knees of a cypress tree. Catacombs could be created on a round peninsula that just out into the lake. Lake Beauty is already a peaceful and serene place despite the incessant sound of traffic. Each new suggestion was intended to make it even more of a place for reflection and healing. The project was pitched to the hospital and nothing ever became of it. Susan Stauffer Beckmann is the public relations person for the mural. It was propped up for a day on June 12, 2017 at Lake Eola for people to see. Rather than being painted on a wall, it is painted on sections of marine grade board so it can be installed anywhere. It was installed on the side of a bar in Thornton Park for a while, but that is not intended as it’s permanent home.

What went up as a temporary memorial at Pulse. Resembles the curving wall design envisioned for lake Beauty. Only instead of being covered in foliage it is covered with thousands of photos from the community response after Pulse happened.

Nantucket Bathing Suit Optional Beach

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A short walk west from Surfside Beach towards Miacomet Beach on Nantucket is a bathing suit optional beach. I couldn’t resist walking there to sketch. I have done figure drawings for decades, so this was a treat. If you know me at all, you know I am a vampire. I got skin caner on my nose removed years ago which was a barbaric operation in which I watched a staple remove a large chunk of flesh inches from my eyes. Just the idea of the C word keeps me from worshiping the sun anymore. While I sketched others soaking up the sun with every inch of their being on this Nantucket beach, I was under a beach umbrella, wrapped in several beach towels with not an inch of skin exposed to the sun.

I liked that there were rainbow colored beach umbrellas scattered along the beach. I made me feel like the Nantucket natives were in solidarity with Orlando after the Pulse Nightclub massacre the previous month. The surf at this beach was particularly strong. I was on the top of a small cliff of sand that the surf had eroded. As the tide came in, it got closer to the bottom of the sand cliff I was resting on to of. As I sketched, the base of the sand was eroded and without warning, the cliff gave way and I tumbled down into the water below. Other than falling in, I didn’t swim very far out. I heard that the rip tides are rather strong and the waves were honestly intimidating. I preferred the pleasure of watching and sketching sun bathers to the surf.

Glen’s Nantucket Home

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Glen Weimer and I were buddies back in the early days of our studies at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. It had been a long time since we saw each other and it was so amazing to  get away and spend a week exploring his home of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. Glen rents this beautiful little bungalow along with a roommate. Glen keeps the place immaculately clean, watering the lawn each morning and squeegeeing the shower tiles. His bedroom is right above the porch and rather than using air conditioning, the windows have fans to circulate the ocean breezes.

Waving in the breeze on the porch was a rainbow colored wind sock.  I had visited shortly after the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando and it was a chance to get away from sketching the sadness as Orlando came to grips with the gravity of what had happened. Every day I found some vigil, fundraiser or healing service devoted to Pulse. Nantucket gave me time to myself and sketching opportunities outside the confines of mass murder. The rainbow wind sock brought back flashes of the endless rainbows that had cropped up everywhere in Orlando. The entire world was in solidarity with our loss.

Glen’s place also doubles as his office where he offers holistic bodywork for clients. Sessions are a synthesis of polarity therapy and subtle osteopathic
(manual therapy) techniques, structural mobilization and positional
release techniques. They are customized to address unique needs and
specific body-mind challenges. On his coffee table were photo books of his trip to Tibet where he explored the birthplace and temples of Buddhism.

It was wonderful to see how Glen had rebuilt his life. Though on an island, he was part of a tight knot community. Appointments for his business were logged in digitally and he went through the schedule to be sure all the appointments lined up right.  In the morning he built a complex blended drink with powders, fruit and vegetables that must have been incredible healthy. That is in stark  contrast to the Peanut Butter Captain Crunch I have each morning. He told me something that has stayed with me and I think about often. He said we are all rich in our own way. We make choices about our lifestyles and who we surround ourselves with. While some may have lots of money, others choose freedom and creative or spiritual endeavors that offer different forms of riches. It was in a time of incredible personal chaos and change when I visited him, and that hasn’t changes two years later. Seeing Glen gave me some form of consistency and hope that I will find my place in the world.

Meditation in the wake of Pulse

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In June of 2016 I became obsessed with sketching every wake, vigil, memorial and fundraiser devoted to the cause of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Every post at the time was about the shooting and the cities attempt to heal in the wake of the tragedy. To find some personal balance in my life I turned to meditation. I honestly hoped that the discussion on this day might be about the Buddhist teachings that might address such a tragedy. Certainly Buddhists must have thoughts that would shed some light on the feelings and confusion that follow mass murder.  I learned that the previous week had addressed those insights. The Mindful Medition Discussion Group meets weekly on Wednesdays behind the home of Peter Carlson (1818 Carrigan Avenue, Winter Park, 32789).

We all sat silently for an hour to meditate. My high blood pressure caused my ears to start drumming. I was concerned that my body didn’t allow for enough quiet for me to get lost in the moment. My legs started to ache so I shifted to a new position. I must be doing this all wrong.  I was biding my time until I could sketch during the discussion to follow. Despite my annoyance at my inability to find any semblance of peace, I was glad that I had taken the night to do something for myself. I hoped meditation might allow me to come to terms with what had happened at Pulse. That never happened. Conversation turned to the four noble truths, but my mind wandered back to Orange Avenue just south of the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

I returned to mediation many times in the following months to  keep trying. Glen Weimer, an old college friend offered me a chance to escape to Nantucket and it was there that some quite meditation on the beach finally brought me a moment of respite.

The Dali Llama‘s thought on violence seem to ring true. He teaches the universal human values of peace, harmony, and community… “If
we emphasize more on non-violence and harmony, we can herald a new
beginning. Unless we make serious attempts to achieve peace, we will
continue to see a replay of the mayhem humanity experienced in the 20th
century. We
need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values, of oneness and
harmony. If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will
be different from the previous one. It is in everybody’s interest. So let us work for peace within our families and society, and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments.”

So what can  I do? I have just one tool at my disposal and that is to sketch. Now two years after the attack, I am still sketching and listening to try and understand.

Defense Witnesses Took the Stand in Quick Succession

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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.

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

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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.

Omar and Noor’s Web of Finances

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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.