@meghannmcuniff: chaplain who met a teenage mass shooter in juvenile detention testified about his favorite things about him during his sentencing hearing, so a prosecutor in cross-examination tried to bring the focus back on the victims by asking the chaplain his favorite things about them. Robert Fermanides volunteers as a chaplain at the Cumberland Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he met Austin Thompson after Thompson was arrested for murdering five people in Raleigh on Oct. 13, 2022. “What would you say your favorite thing about Austin is?” defense attorney Kellie Mannette asked. “That he’s an overcomer, that he’s very genuine,” Fermanides answered. In cross-examination, Wake County Assistant District Attorney Robert Latour asked, “Are you able to tell us what your favorite thing about Nicole Connors, Gabriel Torres, James Thompson, Susan Karnatz and Mary Marshall was?” Fermanides appeared taken aback by the question. “Am I able to? Absolutely not,” Fermanides said. “Because those are the people that he killed,” Latour said. “Sir, I don’t, I don’t watch the media on these students, because I have one job, and so I’m assuming, and I’m very sensitive to the to those folks, you just call their names out. That hurts my heart,” Fermanides said. None of the victims was a student except Thompson’s brother. “I guess my point, sir, is you never got to meet those people, right?” Latour asked. “Correct, yes, sir,” Fermanides answered. In re-direct, Mannette asked Fermanides, “I believe one of the things that you said about Austin is that he was genuine. Is that right?” “Yes,” Fermanides answered. “So as he opened up to you, he came across as genuine?” Mannette asked. “I would say without a doubt, yes,” Fermanides answered. “And at some point he accepted that grace and mercy are for him?” Mannette asked. Judge Paul Ridgeway sustained Latour’s objection. Ridgeway is to announce his sentence for Thompson today (Friday, February 13). #law #court #crime #attorney

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Friday 13 February 2026 14:22:33 GMT