An Illinois man who alleged that a drug-induced hallucination compelled him to shoot a 9-year-old girl in the head has been handed a lengthy prison sentence.
Michael Goodman, 46, entered a guilty plea to murder charges three years after fatally shooting 9-year-old Sarabi Medina. According to reports from local Fox affiliate WFLD, Sarabi had just returned to her home in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood on the evening of August 5, 2023, having purchased two ice cream cones from a nearby ice cream truck. She reportedly located her father and said to him, “Here Daddy, I got you an ice cream.”
Within minutes, witnesses observed Goodman emerging from his nearby apartment armed with a firearm. He proceeded to walk in Sarabi’s direction as her family and neighbors looked on in absolute horror.
Prosecutors stated that Sarabi’s father, Michael Medina, rushed toward Goodman in an attempt to intervene, but Goodman disregarded him entirely and pursued the young girl into her apartment, where he shot her in the head. Medina subsequently tackled Goodman to the ground, causing the firearm to discharge a second time. That shot struck Goodman in the left eye, permanently costing him his vision.
Sarabi was transported to a nearby hospital, where she ultimately succumbed to her injuries.
According to reporting by the Chicago Tribune, Goodman stated that he had obtained ketamine through the dark web after conventional antidepressants had proven ineffective for him. On the day of Sarabi’s killing, he claimed to have consumed multiple doses of ketamine, each significantly exceeding the recommended amount.
In a statement delivered in court by his attorney during Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Goodman said, “It was not the largest dose I had ever taken before, so I saw no reason that my experience would be any different than usual.” He indicated that he had begun experiencing suicidal thoughts before adding, “The last part of the vague memory I have is walking through my front door.”
Goodman further claimed to have no recollection of shooting Sarabi.
Sarabi’s family members remained entirely unconvinced by Goodman’s account. Following the sentencing, Medina spoke to local ABC affiliate WLS, stating, “He talks. I was there that day. We were screaming at that man. That man wouldn’t look at us for nothing. He was focusing on killing my daughter.”
Judge Tyria Walton sentenced Goodman to 40 years in prison with no possibility of parole, granting him credit for the three years he had already served. When one of Sarabi’s cousins appealed for a longer sentence, Judge Walton noted that Goodman would be “83 years old if he lives to see freedom. Statistically, that does not happen.”
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