Nathaniel Brazill

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Nathaniel Brazill
200px
Mugshot of Brazill
Born (1986-09-22) September 22, 1986 (age 38)
Florida, United States
Criminal penalty 28 years imprisonment, plus 7 years felony probation
Criminal status Incarcerated at Jackson Correctional Institution
Parent(s) Polly Powell
Conviction(s) Second degree murder, aggravated assault
Killings
Victims 1
Date May 26, 2000
Country United States
Location(s) Lake Worth, Florida
Weapons 25-cal. Raven handgun[1]

Nathaniel R. Brazill (born September 22, 1986) is an American man who, at age 13, fatally shot one of his schoolteachers, Barry Grunow, at Lake Worth Middle School in Lake Worth, Florida. Brazill was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 28 years in prison.[2]

Shooting and conviction

On May 26, 2000, the last day of the 1999–2000 school year, Brazill—a seventh grade student—shot and killed Barry Grunow, an English teacher at Lake Worth Middle School in Lake Worth, Florida. After being sent home from school earlier that day for throwing a water balloon, Brazill had returned home, retrieved a .25-caliber handgun, and shot Grunow.[2][3] Brazill was tried as an adult and convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of Grunow and aggravated assault for pointing the gun at another teacher.[4][3] The jury decided not to convict Brazill of first-degree murder, which requires premeditation and carries a mandatory life sentence in Florida, however, juveniles convicted of first-degree murder in Florida are given a review and put on probation for the rest of their life by a judge after 25 years.[3] Brazill was sentenced to 28 years in state prison followed by 7 years of probation.[2]

Subsequent civil litigation

Pam Grunow, the widow of the murdered teacher, sued the Brazill family friend that owned the handgun used, the Palm Beach County School Board, and the pawn shop that sold the handgun. These cases were settled for over $1 million. Grunow also filed an action against the gun manufacturer that resulted in a $1.2 million jury verdict, but the trial judge set aside the verdict, and in 2005 the Florida District Court of Appeals upheld this ruling.[5][6]

Imprisonment

Brazill is incarcerated at the Jackson Correctional Institution with a release date set for May 18, 2028.[7] While imprisoned, Brazill earned his GED and certification as a paralegal.[8]

Childhood and student career

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. As a child, Brazill was surrounded by domestic abuse and alcoholism at home, and local police frequently responded to calls from the Brazill residence.[9] Prior to the Grunow murder, however, Brazill received at least 2 D's as well as an F by Grunow himself, described by teachers as being mild mannered and likeable, and Grunow was his favorite teacher.[10]

In popular culture

  • Nathaniel Brazil's murder of his teacher Barry Grunow was covered in the show Kids Who Kill. It was shown in the same episode as the murder of Derrick Robie by Eric Smith, and the murder and attempted murder by Daniel Petric.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dana Canedy, Boy Who Killed Teacher Is Found Guilty of Murder, New York Times (May 17, 2001).
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Eliot Kleinberg, Lake Worth Middle teacher killed by student 15 years ago, Palm Beach Post (May 28, 2015).
  6. ↑ Grunow v. Valor Corp. of Florida, 904 So. 2d 551 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2005).
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Susan Spencer-Wendel, A decade after Lake Worth Middle School shooting: Nathaniel Brazill regretful, ambitious, Palm Beach Post (May 26, 2010).
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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