Closing arguments begin in civil case in Santa Fe against parents of accused shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis

HOUSTON, Texas – Closing arguments begin Friday in the civil trial against the parents of accused Santa Fe High School shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis.

Since the trial began on July 29, we have heard heartbreaking testimony from several families of the ten people who were killed and injured when Dimitrios allegedly entered Santa Fe High School and opened fire in 2018.

The parents and relatives of the ten dead and injured are demanding that Dimitrios' parents also be held responsible for the shooting. The lawsuit accuses the parents of not doing more to recognize signs of mental illness in their son and of not preventing him from gaining access to firearms at home. Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos have denied any wrongdoing.

The criminal case against the accused shooter has stalled because Dimitrios remains incompetent to stand trial. Doctors at North Texas State Hospital in Vernon have been working to restore his competency to stand trial since 2019.

Dimitrios has been in the hospital for more than 1,000 days. According to state data obtained by KPRC 2 Investigates, the average time it took doctors in North Texas to restore a defendant to sanity was 229 days in fiscal year 2022, 227 days in fiscal year 2023 and 126 days in fiscal year 2024.

Some of the most poignant moments during the trial included testimony from Dimitrios' parents and siblings, survivors of the shooting and the psychiatrist who interviewed Dimitrios and his family in 2019 and wrote the report that has been central to the case over the past week and a half.

Dimitrios' parents and siblings denied any wrongdoing and knew nothing about Dimitrios' mental state before the shooting. They often described his changed behavior as normal for a teenager. The family was questioned extensively about the 17 guns kept in the family home and used during the mass attack and how accessible they were. Both Rose and Antonios denied the guns were accessible, saying the closet where they were kept was locked and checked often.

The last person to testify during the trial was Dr. Bradley Peterson, a psychiatrist and expert in childhood illnesses. His testimony focused on Dimitrios' mental state. Peterson was hired by the defense and conducted interviews with Dimitrios and his family in 2019. He diagnosed Dimitrios with schizoaffective disorder and noted severe psychosis and delusions involving a demigod named Natasha and the CIA's MK-Ultra program. Peterson emphasized that Dimitrios' mental disorders, including paranoia and a thought disorder, significantly influenced his actions during the 2018 school massacre.

Peterson emphasized that Dimitrios' family was unaware of the severity of his condition and confused his symptoms with normal behavior. He stressed that Dimitrios' delusions made it difficult for him to distinguish between reality and fantasy, which impaired his ability to distinguish between right and wrong. The psychiatrist defended the validity of Dimitrios' symptoms, claiming they were consistent with his diagnosis and difficult to fabricate.

The judge ruled that Peterson could only testify about the mental illness observed during his conversations with Dimitrios, not about what the parents or school should have known. The plaintiffs argued that Dimitrios' parents missed clear signs of mental illness, while the defense claimed that the parents took appropriate measures and that Dimitrios concealed his mental state.

The jury will reconvene at 9 a.m. Friday to hear the indictment and closing arguments.

Stay up to date on the Santa Fe process:

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