Transcript

The 13-Year-Old Who Murdered His Favourite Teacher...

From Twisted Minds · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 19 min · 2,955 words · 20 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "The 13-Year-Old Who Murdered His Favourite Teacher...", an episode of Twisted Minds published January 13, 2023 (19 min, about 2,955 words). It mentions 9 people, works and ideas, including Nathaniel Brazil, Barry Gruno, Lake Worth Middle School, Polly Powell, Pamela Gruno.

What this episode is about

Nathaniel Brazil, a 13-year-old honors student, became embroiled in a tragic incident following his frustration over being sent home from school for throwing water balloons, leading him to commit an unthinkable act against his favorite teacher. The case reveals the impact of a tumultuous upbringing and unexpected violence in a seemingly well-adjusted child's life.

Key takeaways

  • In a twist of fate, last-day antics escalated from water balloon fun to tragic consequences in Nathaniel's world.
  • Honor roll student Nathaniel's violent turn highlights the hidden struggles behind seemingly perfect academic performance.
  • Teachers' encouragement can be a lifeline; Nathaniel's bond with Mr. Gruno was a beacon amid dark home struggles.
  • A last-day celebration turned into a nightmare; the pressure of adolescence can turn innocent pranks into devastating actions.
  • Innocence lost: Nathaniel’s bouquet for his girlfriend would be overshadowed by a heartbreaking school tragedy forever.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 3:00: Nathaniel Brazil, Barry Gruno, Lake Worth Middle School, Polly Powell
  2. – 6:00: Barry Gruno, Nathaniel Brazil, Florida Atlantic University (FAU)
  3. – 12:00: Barry Gruno, Nathaniel Brazil, Polly Powell, Mike Mahoney
  4. – 15:00: Pamela Gruno, Robert Udell
  5. – 18:00: Barry Gruno, Jackson Correctional Institution
  6. – 18:34: Nathaniel Brazil

Notable quotes from "The 13-Year-Old Who Murdered His Favourite Teacher..."

  • An excellent attendance and no History of Violence or discipline problems Nathaniel attended Lake Worth Middle School in Lake Worth Florida for the most part teachers described…
    about Lake Worth Middle School · at
  • Just six days before things went horribly wrong born on the 6th of July 1964. Barry gruno was a Detroit native whose father died when he was young he grew up in a working-class household in the Cabana Colony neighborhood near Palm Beach.
    about Barry Gruno · at
  • Flowers and a silver balloon in his hands yes you guessed right these items were for his girlfriend dinora Nathaniel planned to give them to her just before his first lesson as…
    about Nathaniel Brazil · at
  • The school compound jumped over the fence and was racing down the street when a police car came around Nathaniel flagged down the car and recognized the driver as officer Mike…
    about Mike Mahoney · at
  • Interrogation room where her son was being held the teenager began to weep and Shake Polly wiped the tears from her son's face if I taught you anything didn't I teach you to…
    about Polly Powell · at
  • Nathaniel was one of the finest men I ever met in my 30 years of practice Robert stuck to the argument that Nathaniel had only brought the gun to school to intimidate people…
    about Robert Udell · at
  • Become the first lawyer in our family on his way to a career in law enforcement Nathaniel is being held at the Jackson Correctional Institution his release date is set for the…
    about Jackson Correctional Institution · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Nathaniel Brazil — Person · Primary subject (perpetrator/defendant) · 6 mentions · first at
    Central figure of the episode; a 13-year-old honors student who shot his teacher Barry Grunow and was tried as an adult.
  • Barry Gruno — Person · Victim; referenced teacher · 5 mentions · first at
    Language arts teacher described as Nathaniel's favorite; he was shot and killed in his classroom, driving the case narrative and aftermath.
  • Polly Powell — Person · Referenced family member (mother) · 2 mentions · first at
    Nathaniel's mother; her experiences and later advocacy efforts are used to contextualize Nathaniel's upbringing and the long-term consequences.
  • Pamela Gruno — Person · Referenced family member (victim's spouse); civil litigant/foundation founder · 2 mentions · first at
    Barry Grunow's wife; described pursuing civil lawsuits and later starting a scholarship/support foundation in his memory.
    According to Ben Marlin the then Palm Beach County School Superintendent Pamela gruno kept asking the question why repeatedly when he had gone down to the gruno home on a…
  • Robert Udell — Person · Referenced legal professional (defense attorney) · 1 mention · first at
    Named as Nathaniel's defense attorney; argued against life/death sentencing and framed the shooting as accidental/intimidation gone wrong.
  • Mike Mahoney — Person · Referenced law enforcement officer (arrest/confession recipient) · 1 mention · first at
    Police officer known to Nathaniel from the neighborhood; Nathaniel flagged him down and confessed immediately after fleeing.

Companies & orgs

  • Florida Atlantic University (FAU) — Company · Referenced institution · 1 mention · first at
    The university where Barry gruno studied and was interviewed.
    At Jupiter High where he studied in what could be said to be an unfortunate hindsight Barry had granted an interview to the post as a freshman at Florida Atlantic University…

Places & events

Full transcript with timestamps

if you were in or been through the school system then you must understand just how much the last day of school means to the average student the final class is mini parties and even pranks just make the end of the year all the more special that said it is not difficult to understand Nathaniel's frustration when he was sent home from school because he was caught throwing water balloons of course he wasn't the only one involved in the ACT but other students were quicker and managed to get away before they can get into any trouble what's worse Nathaniel did not get to bid his girlfriend a proper goodbye before he went home for the summer unfortunately the anger Nathaniel harbored toward the member of Staff who had sent him home eventually manifest against Nathaniel's favorite teacher in the most unreasonable and unspeakable way welcome or welcome back to Twisted Minds my name is James and today we'll be

taking a look at the case of Nathaniel Brazil and just how this teenage honors Middle School student landed himself in jail for committing a tragic crime that no one saw coming Nathaniel Brazil was born on the 22nd of September 1986 to parents Polly Powell and Nathaniel Brazil senior from the tender age of five Nathaniel had witnessed his mother being domestically abused by her former husbands and boyfriends it is not certain when his parents separated but by the time of the murder Nathaniel was living with his mother a two-year-old sister and his mother's then-husband Nathaniel's father on the other hand was said to be living in Daytona Beach and having very limited interactions with his son according to reports Nathaniel Brazil's senior sent Paulie fifty dollars every week presumably for his son's upkeep despite the less than ideal circumstances surrounding Nathaniel's upbringings he was an honor student with

an excellent attendance and no History of Violence or discipline problems Nathaniel attended Lake Worth Middle School in Lake Worth Florida for the most part teachers described him as being soft-spoken bright and well-liked of these teachers who spoke highly of him Nathaniel's favorite was his language arts teacher Barry gruno while he was an all-around a student the seventh grade seemed to have been quite a challenge for Nathaniel whether or not this was due to a situation at home is unclear but Nathaniel's academic records showed that his grades had significantly dropped over the school year to further highlight this investigations revealed on the 15th of April 2000 just about a month before the tragic event Nathaniel had written a letter to Barry in the letter the teenager explained how his seventh grade year had been a significantly difficult period for him he complained about being picked on by

his classmates and teachers and even contemplated committing suicide Barry had been known to stand up for Nathaniel and encouraged him when others made fun of him for his passion for studying and academic Excellence this must have contributed a great deal to the 13 year old finding a safe space and confidence in his teacher of course being at the start of his teenage life there was something else in the mix of Nathaniel's school work and home life yes hormones testimonies from some of Nathaniel's Friends Revealed that he had developed feelings for one of his classmates tenora Rosales Donora had been Nathaniel's first girlfriend giving him his first kiss which would eventually turn out to be their last just six days before things went horribly wrong

born on the 6th of July 1964. Barry gruno was a Detroit native whose father died when he was young he grew up in a working-class household in the Cabana Colony neighborhood near Palm Beach Gardens with his height of six foot three inches and his decent athletic abilities Barry earned all-conference basketball honors at Jupiter High where he studied in what could be said to be an unfortunate hindsight Barry had granted an interview to the post as a freshman at Florida Atlantic University the interview was for a 1986 Labor Day story about people's worst jobs in the interview the then 25 year old spoke about why he quit his summer job as a convenience store clerk just two weeks into the role you're there for eight hours he said in the interview any minute a killer could come in and gun me between the eyes little did he know that sooner rather than later he would meet a similar fate by the time of the interview Barry had

begun dating Pamela halauka a former special education teacher Barry finished University in 1987 and was employed as an English teacher at loggers Run Middle School West of Boca Raton Barry and Pamela eventually got married in 1991 when he was 27 years old the couple had two children and lived on North O Street in Lake Worth according to several reports Barry gruno was not only a dedicated teacher who took his job seriously but he was also a loving father he was deeply loved by his wife and children

on the 26th of May 2000 Nathaniel Brazil left home for the last day of school with a small bouquet of orange and white flowers and a silver balloon in his hands yes you guessed right these items were for his girlfriend dinora Nathaniel planned to give them to her just before his first lesson as it turns out the gifts for dinorah were not the only unconventional items Nathaniel took to school on that fateful day hidden in the youngster's backpack were water balloons it was the last day of school and Nathanael was determined to make the most of it after attending his language arts class with Mr gruno and having his lunch Nathaniel went to band practice where he played the tuba after his next lesson Nathaniel made a stop at the bathroom to fill up the water balloons he had brought to school soon he was part of a group of about 12 students who were involved in a water fight while it was the last day of

school the teachers were not willing to condone any bad behavior and so they immediately set out to catch the students involved as expected everyone involved in the water fight dispersed at the site of a counselor everyone but Nathaniel and a 13 year old girl that is being the only ones found on the scene the two were sent home as punishment in line with the punishment that had been given to them both students left the school but Nathanael was not happy about the development the 13 year old girl who was sent home alongside Nathanael later revealed that Nathaniel had promised to return to the school and harm the counselor who had sent them home according to the girl Nathaniel had said something along the lines of just watch I'll be all over the news and what is more horrifying is that the teenager kept to his word the previous weekend Nathaniel had visited Boynton Beach where a man who he regarded as his

grandfather lived while at the beach home Nathaniel snatched to 25 caliber Raven semi-automatic handgun and some loose bullets that were stored in a drawer what interest would a 13 year old have in such an item you may ask well Nathaniel had been fascinated by the possibility of a career in law enforcement so he was very interested in guns he had taken the old man's gun to inspect it and figure out how it worked unfortunately his plan went a little too well after being sent home from school Nathaniel retrieved the gun and hid it in his pocket he then returned to school on his bicycle his sole mission to tell his girlfriend a proper goodbye before the start of the summer holidays or at least that is what it seemed like at first glance once at school Nathaniel went in search of dinora and her friend it so happened that they were both in a lesson with Mr gruno at that time of the day 3 25 PM

undeterred by this Nathaniel walked into gruno's class and asked to see the two girls security cameras capture Mr gruno speaking with Nathaniel outside of the classroom Bruno unaware that Nathaniel had been sent home most likely asked him for a hall pass and told him that he could not see the girls surprisingly this was not what provoked Nathanael according to Nathaniel Mr gruno was laughing which made him mad supposedly gruno's laughter enraged Nathaniel to the point that he pulled out a gun a few seconds later students in Mr gruno's class heard him say stop pointing that gun at me Nate everyone was alarmed even Nathaniel himself according to him he had been shaking uncontrollably in the standoff with his teacher then as fourteen-year-old Mark Ariat later put it there was a big pop and gruno dropped dead in front of a row of blockers in the blink of an eye students came running out of the class shouting

he shot Mr gruno he really had having taken a bullet to his head Bruno now laid dead in a pool of his own blood dazed by what had happened in the last few minutes Nathaniel did the only thing he could hear his body telling him to do run and run he did as Nathaniel raced down the hallway John James a mathematics teacher who had also taught Nathanael stepped out of his classroom to see the commotion that was going on not wanting anything or anyone to get in his way Nathaniel waved the gun at James warning him that he was not afraid to use it by saying the words don't bother me Mr James realizing that the threat was real the math teacher quickly backed up into his classroom with his hands raised and Nathaniel made his Escape once outside the building Nathaniel discovered that his bike had been moved from where he had left it he ran across the school compound jumped over the fence and was racing down the street

when a police car came around Nathaniel flagged down the car and recognized the driver as officer Mike Mahoney whom he knew from his neighborhood dropping to his knees beside the officer Nathaniel confessed I shot somebody a few hours later Nathaniel asked detectives how Bruno was faring when told that his teacher had died Nathaniel broke down sobbing when Nathaniel had not returned home from school by 3 30 PM that afternoon Holly grew worried what could have happened to her son she would find out 30 minutes later when her sister called to deliver the news Nathaniel had been arrested a while later when Paulie arrived at the interrogation room where her son was being held the teenager began to weep and Shake Polly wiped the tears from her son's face if I taught you anything didn't I teach you to think first she asked him in tears Barry Bruno's death was tragic not only for the school and

students who greatly admired him but for a number of other people his death signaled the creation of a void in at least three people's lives his wife and two children who were aged four and nine years old at the time of his death according to Ben Marlin the then Palm Beach County School Superintendent Pamela gruno kept asking the question why repeatedly when he had gone down to the gruno home on a condolence visit this loss was tragic in that it not only affected gruno's immediate family but rippled the rest of the community since gruno was liked and admired by all it's little wonder that many people were devastated by the news of his death when asked about his teacher Nathaniel said I like the way he interacted with us and other students the way he played basketball and he hung out with us as far as we were in class he just sat back and talked to us gruno's likability made it less surprising when about 1 600 people

showed up for his memorial service while grieving her deceased husband Pam lagruna was committed to doing a lot more than hosting a memorial service in memory of him she sued the pawn shop that had sold the gun to Nathaniel's grandfather in the Palm Beach County School Board these cases were settled out of court for over one million dollars but Pam did not stop there she went ahead to sue the company that made the gun and won a ruling of 1.2 million dollars however an appeals court rejected the ruling concluding that the gun was anything but defective with the money she received from Court settlements Pamela started a foundation that gave scholarships and support to students continuing the life work and dream of her husband on the other side of the coin Nathaniel's World seemed to be crashing down just months after he was arrested Nathaniel's mother Paulie found out that she had breast cancer

regardless Polly refused to give up on her son so in 2003 she mustered all the strengths she could and went in the company of other parents of teenagers who had committed murder to see the Vatican to try to change the U.S practice of trying teenagers as adults in 2008 a now 43 year old Paulie died of breast cancer with his father cutting off all Communications with him Nathanael was left without any immediate family

I know you're probably wondering about what I just said yes Nathaniel was tried as an adult after his arrest the then Palm Beach County State Attorney decided to try Nathaniel as an adult on the charges of first-degree murder this was not uncommon at the time as there were about 15 teenagers who had been convicted of first-degree murder Florida and other states adopted this method of trying teenagers as adults to obtain the highest possible punishment and manage the spike in juvenile crime rates Robert Udell Nathaniel's defense attorney was not swayed and stayed true to his belief that Nathaniel should not get sentenced to life in prison or the death sentence according to Robert Nathaniel was one of the finest men I ever met in my 30 years of practice Robert stuck to the argument that Nathaniel had only brought the gun to school to intimidate people and ended up killing Bruno by accident

Nathaniel himself agreed as he mentioned in a future interview that his first mistake was stealing the gun from his grandfather in the first place on the 16th of May 2001 after hours of deliberation the jury found Nathaniel guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated assault for waving the gun at Mr James he was sentenced to 28 years in a state prison followed by seven years probation

considering the living circumstances in prison Nathaniel may have been negatively influenced prison records show about 15 instances of disciplinary action although mostly for minor offenses like lying or disrespecting an official in violating of telephone and male privileges he was cited for three major violence related offenses over the span of 14 years but only admitted to the first which was for fighting back in 2001 claiming that the others were fabricated in search of proper treatment while in prison Nathaniel filed seven lawsuits and submitted 500 administrative complaints against the prison system one of the lawsuits has been settled this does not come as a surprise as while still in prison Nathaniel maintained his reputation as an exemplary student he has continued to study hard he earned his general education diploma and passed other examinations certifying him as a law Clerk and as a paralegal this most

likely informed his knowledge about the law and his rights in addition to the support received from his legal team Nathaniel has regretted not being able to attend the funeral services of both Mr gruno and his mother as he was in prison and was not granted leave he says he has already petitioned the state senator to allow him to attend the funeral ceremony of his maternal grandmother when she dies however it is likely that Nathaniel's petition will never be granted as he told his grandmother that she needs to in his words live to be 115 so she can see me become the first lawyer in our family on his way to a career in law enforcement Nathaniel is being held at the Jackson Correctional Institution his release date is set for the 18th of May 2028 when he will be 41 years old the unfortunate events leading to the death of Barry gruno have caused many people to share their different opinions on

Nathaniel's sentence while some people think that it is a good thing that after the completion of his 28 years Nathaniel will be given another shot at life others believe that he should have been subject to the full extent of the law seeing how his actions cause so much trauma to those who witnessed the event and of course gruno having lost his life and his children growing up without their father what do you think do you believe Nathaniel should have gotten the life sentence or are you of the opinion that he deserves another shot at life thanks for tuning in to Twisted Minds that was the case of Nathaniel Brazil and why don't you go ahead and click on one of the two videos on your screen for another one of our videos

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The 13-Year-Old Who Murdered His Favourite Teacher..."?

James (Guest), Barry Gruno (Guest), Nathaniel Brazil (Guest), Pamela Gruno (Guest), Robert Udell (Guest).

What is "The 13-Year-Old Who Murdered His Favourite Teacher..." about?

Nathaniel Brazil, a 13-year-old honors student, became embroiled in a tragic incident following his frustration over being sent home from school for throwing water balloons, leading him to commit an unthinkable act against his favorite teacher. The case reveals the impact of a tumultuous upbringing and unexpected violence in a seemingly well-adjusted child's life.

What is mentioned in this Twisted Minds episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Nathaniel Brazil, Barry Gruno, Lake Worth Middle School, Polly Powell, Pamela Gruno, Robert Udell. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The 13-Year-Old Who Murdered His Favourite Teacher..."?

The episode runs 19 min; the transcript is about 2,955 words in 20 timestamped sections.

More from Twisted Minds

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 25, 2026.