Closing arguments in civil trial in Santa Fe High School shooting scheduled for Friday; Psychiatrist gives disturbing insight into suspect's mental state

GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — All sides rested on Thursday afternoon in the civil case against the admitted Santa Fe High School shooter and his parents.

Some of the victims and their families filed the lawsuit shortly after the May 18, 2018 mass murder, claiming that Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Maria Kosmetatos were negligent in allowing their son Dimitrios access to their firearms and failing to provide him with psychiatric treatment.

On the twelfth day of the trial, psychiatrist Dr. Bradley Peterson testified via video call. Peterson interviewed Pagourtzis on three consecutive days within a year of the shooting.

Dimitrios was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, Tourette syndrome, social anxiety disorder, psychosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, probable transvestite disorder and anorexia, which was in remission.

Dr. Peterson said that both Dimitrios' behavior and his comments during the interview made it clear that he was suffering from a psychotic illness.

He said Dimitrios described his mental health condition as “a smoldering psychosis evolving into a worse psychosis.”

The lawyer for Dimitrios' parents asked why the situation for the then 17-year-old had escalated so much between December 2017 and May 2018.

SEE ALSO: 'He's mocking us': Testimony continues in civil trial against parents of accused Santa Fe High School shooter

“A typical trajectory of a psychotic illness is that it starts off smoldering and then continues to get worse until it eventually reaches a threshold and becomes very, very severe,” Dr. Peterson said.

During his testimony, the shooter said he saw, heard and sensed a woman named Natasha. He described her as a demigod and said he was her protégé. He said she hugged him and put her arms around him, which gave him comfort.

During the interview, Dimitrios reportedly said that Natasha is “Satan” spelled backwards. The extra “H” and “A” stand for “Hell awaits.”

He also told Dr. Peterson that the CIA programmed him as an assassin for the MKUltra program. Dimitrios went on to say that he believed the CIA thought he knew too much and planned to kill him. He believed the CIA had been monitoring him using a drone.

According to Dr. Peterson, the plan for the shooting came from Natasha and the CIA.

When asked what influence his psychosis had on the planning and execution of the shooting, Dr. Peterson said: “Absolutely. He is directly responsible. No question about it.”

Dr. Peterson testified that when Dimitrios felt “happy” or “on top of the world,” he would not follow Natasha and the CIA's orders and would throw away all the materials he had collected for the shooting. He would “crash,” according to Dr. Peterson, and Dimitrios claimed that Natasha told him he had to come crawling back and if he ever did that again, she would punish him and “rip his head off.”

He also said the CIA would redouble its efforts to track him down and kill him if he veered off course.

Dimitrios said he didn't want to tell anyone about Natasha and the CIA because everyone would think he made it up and would embarrass or humiliate him.

READ MORE: 'I want to remember everything': Families hear more disturbing testimony in Santa Fe High School civil trial

When asked how he was able to hide this condition, Dr. Peterson said, “It's the rule, not the exception.” He described the symptoms as internal experiences that are not usually noticeable externally. According to the psychiatrist, most people who experience these symptoms do not want to talk about them with others.

In a psychotic state, Dr. Peterson said, a person generally cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

“Natasha and the CIA were real,” said Dr. Peterson. “It was real. They lived and breathed the air around him. That was real to Dimitri. That he was being programmed by them was real. In his reality, he had no choice but to follow their orders and do their bidding. There was no alternative. It was right. It was the only option.”

The plaintiffs' attorney pointed out that his diary, which was found after the shooting, made no mention of Natasha or the CIA.

The attorney asked Dr. Peterson if Dimitrios could have faked the thoughts in his head. The doctor described the symptoms of his disorders as “classic” and said it would be very difficult to fake them.

Dr. Peterson testified that during an interrogation, Dimitrios said he would go to school drunk and fall over and that people should have known something was wrong with him, but no one asked him.

He also said that he wore a duster coat and combat boots to school and tried to get someone to ask him what was wrong, but none did.

SEE MORE: Mother of suspected Santa Fe High School shooter says she wishes he had killed her that day

Dimitrios' parents said they had noticed little change in his behavior. Dr. Peterson was asked how this was possible. He explained that the symptoms were internal, but there were external signs that someone could have noticed, such as becoming more withdrawn or getting lower grades.

The judge did not allow Dr. Peterson's testimony to be recorded in the event of a criminal trial. The testimony is sealed.

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

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