Chilling Final Chapter Of January 21st
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Politics and Activism

Chilling Final Chapter Of January 21st

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Chilling Final Chapter Of January 21st
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January 21, 2014 is a day permanently seared into the minds of all Purdue University students and faculty. Terror, shock, and heartbreak infiltrated campus, after Cody Cousins repeatedly shot and stabbed fellow Purdue University student, Andrew Boldt, in the Electrical Engineering (EE) building, as horrified classmates bore witness to the traumatizing scene. The sounds of gunfire and the issuance of an emergency text message alert, informing students of a shooting on campus and ordering “shelter in place,” incited widespread terror. Speculations of a mass shooter and multiple gunmen spread like wildfire until the news surfaced that the single gunman was apprehended. 

Since then, nationwide audiences have asked why this happened and have awaited news of the motive behind such a cold-blooded murder. Last Friday, Judge Thomas Busch, of the Tippecanoe County Superior Court, found Cousins guilty and sentenced him to 65 years in prison, stating that mental illness was not a contributing factor. The judge was cited saying, “This is a crime of hatred. It’s also a crime of terror. Cousins choose a place where people were gathered.” An autopsy by Dr. Elmo Griggs reported that Boldt was shot five times and also suffered 19 stab and cut wounds.

Despite the verdict of guilty, but not mentally ill, evidence during the hearing that revealed Cousins’ troubling and extensive history with mental illness. Cousins’ mother indicated a family history of mental illness, and that Cousins sought mental health treatment 17 times at Purdue’s counseling service. He was even briefly hospitalized in the summer of 2013 for various issues, including speculated bipolar disorder, depression, and psychosis associated with drug abuse. For a period in 2013, Cousins was reported to have bought a gram of ecstasy every 10 days. During evaluations from multiple mental health professionals prior to Friday’s hearing, Cousins reportedly indicated that Boldt represented "evil." These assessments yielded various diagnoses from professionals, demonstrating considerable shortcomings in the field of mental health at establishing a consensus. 

However, more clarity was found in the courtroom on Friday. When he took the stand, Cousins confessed to feigning mental illness to the court-appointed doctors who assessed him and fabricating his statement about Boldt being evil. He indicated, “I killed Andrew Boldt because I wanted to.” Chillingly, he showed no signs of remorse. Such a testimony provided minimal closure for the parents of victim, Andrew Boldt, and the verdict caused many to cry out for harsher, life-long sentences for murder cases in the state of Indiana. 

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