Dayton gunman Connor Betts' depraved appetite for murder, drugs and Satanism is laid bare in series of chilling journal entries obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
The warped loner, 24, declares himself a servant of 'evil incarnate' and rants about everything from schizophrenia to satanic rituals and massacres.
He even hints at the idea of 'hunting' a victim to kill at the University of Dayton - writing: 'We take a b***h, a person, man, convince them to come with us then poof, gone lol down?'
The frightening pages were revealed by a former friend who paints a confounding picture of Betts as a frequent methamphetamine smoker who played violent video games - but was never a racist or interested in weapons.
Betts finally acted on his murderous impulses when he went on the rampage early Sunday morning, slaughtering nine people and injuring a further 27 in Ned Pepper's Bar.
His sister Megan, 22, was among the first to be killed before Betts was shot dead by police patrolling Dayton's Oregon District. Six of his nine victims were African Americans.
As cops search for a motive, friends and acquaintances have come forward to speak of a troubled young man whose 'dark thoughts' scared even himself.
Dayton gunman Connor Betts' depraved appetite for murder, drugs and Satanism is laid bare in series of chilling journal entries obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com. Betts finally acted on his murderous impulses when he went on the rampage early Sunday morning, slaughtering nine people and injuring a further 27 in Ned Pepper's Bar
The sinister writings describe murder, Satan and drugs, along with what appears to be a plan to lure human victims for 'hunting' He even hints at the idea of 'hunting' a victim to kill at the University of Dayton - writing: 'We take a b***h, a person, man, convince them to come with us then poof, gone lol down?
Betts' disturbing ramblings in the notebooks feature a Satanic symbol with 'Hail Lucifer' and many references to death and murder. The frightening pages were revealed by a former friend who paints a confounding picture of Betts as a frequent methamphetamine smoker who played violent video games - but was never a racist or interested in weapons
Drugs are also mentioned in the often incoherent scribbles, including: 'I need drugs for now and later. 'Wake and bake' and 'how can we get moolah for speed?'
Himes said: 'He was very consistent with the methamphetamine. I don't know if he got into slamming with needles, but he was pretty much smoking it every day when we were hanging out. Coke was also a strong factor but he couldn't afford it so much. It was either that or medications like Adderall or Vyvanse, anything to keep him up for days on end'
Ian Himes, 25, (left and right with Betts) met Betts around five years ago and would hang out with him on a near-daily basis, playing pool, smoking hookah and visiting one another's homes. Himes told DailyMail.com he kept notebooks and diaries and Betts would sometimes take a turn in jotting down his own thoughts and pictures
They include Ian Himes, 25, who met Betts around five years ago and would hang out with him on a near-daily basis, playing pool, smoking hookah and visiting one another's homes.
Himes told DailyMail.com he kept notebooks and diaries and Betts would sometimes take a turn in jotting down his own thoughts and pictures.
His rambling contributions, written around 2017 and published today for the first time, include a Satanic pentagram with the words 'Hail Lucifer' and numerous references to death and murder.
The deranged prose also touches upon the subject of girls - referred to as 'b***hes' - drugs and mental illness.
'I need drugs for now and later. How can we get moolah for speed?' he writes.
In further jumbled snippets, Betts adds: 'Anti-social personality disorder. Don’t listen to romantic advice, sociopath.
'Seek and destroy. Still haven’t eaten enough so…very ADHD, paranoid, schizophrenic, strong, bipolar.
'I am Azrael and this is my human Connor. This human body has so many stupid limits lol. Why? Makes me look less than "average".’
Elsewhere pages are scrawled with drawings of skeletons and the Grim Reaper, while one entry appears to be a poem or dark song lyrics.
'Beasts of darkness called upon from fiery pits. Armies massing, soon to shed blood,' it reads.
Betts is seen with armored gear about to enter Ned Peppers. Moments later, hundreds of panic-stricken partygoers are seen scrambling for cover towards the back of the bar as gunshots are heard erupting outside
Taken inside of Ned Peppers, hundreds of panic-stricken partygoers are seen scrambling for cover towards the back of the bar as gunshots are heard erupting outside
Bett's sister Megan Betts was among the first killed in the massacre, according to police, at the same point at which Chances 'Chace' Beard was shot and wounded. The three drove together to the Oregon District of Dayton
'The struggle eternal vying for souls to fuel their war machines, order versus chaos, good versus evil (a matter of perspective).
'The chosen, champions of their house, some are chosen, some choose, champions clash.
'I am the servant of the serpent evil incarnate, flesh consumer, light destroyer, fueled by hate, rage my strength, distrust my shield.
Betts' rambling contributions, written around 2017 and published today for the first time, include a Satanic pentagram with the words 'Hail Lucifer' and numerous references to death and murder
'Their screams music, their pain my pleasure. May the night reign eternal.
'The light forever eclipsed. A champion of wrath, predatory state, to hunt and to kill my greatest escape.'
One segment in particular provides a chilling clue that Betts would go on to murder for real.
It describes a crude plan to go 'hunting' on the University of Dayton campus, about a mile and a half from the scene of Sunday's rampage.
'Bro we should go to a weekend @ UD geeked af & see if we can’t go “hunting” Ya know lol, f**ck yeah I’m down, ya know lol LMAO,' he writes.
'We take a bi*ch a person, man, convince them to come with us then poof, gone lol down?'
Himes told DailyMail.com the pair never discussed the plot in person.
In fact, Himes says he barely looked at the notes at the time, and only went over them in detail after news broke of Sunday's mass shooting.
'When I heard what happened I shouted out “are you f**king kidding me?” I was in a room by myself, I was stunned, my stomach dropped,' he told DailyMail.com.
'I remembered that I had these pages he’d written so I started tearing my room apart to try and find them and I sat down to decipher them properly for the first time.
'I have to admit I would write some weird stuff myself. I was about 22, 23, it was whatever was on my mind, but nothing demonic - nothing about murder. It was like a form of therapy for us.
'I wish I had have known what he was writing at the time and how serious he was. I wish I could have warned his family.'
Just as cops are trying to untangle the sinister clues behind Sunday’s slaughter, Himes is similarly searching for an explanation as to why his quiet, bookish friend sought out infamy and murder with the pull of a trigger.
'Connor would talk about other killers that had been in the news, but it never seemed out of place. It was never something he brought up out of nowhere,' he said.
Elsewhere pages are scrawled with drawings of skeletons and the Grim Reaper, as well as a mouth with fangs
Betts drew a Grim Reaper on this page. Another entry appears to be a poem or dark song lyrics. 'Beasts of darkness called upon from fiery pits. Armies massing, soon to shed blood,' it reads
One page appears to describe a plan to go 'hunting' for humans. 'Bro we should go to a weekend @ UD geeked af & see if we can't go 'hunting.' Ya know lol, f**ck yeah I'm down, ya know lol LMAO we take a bi*ch a person, man, convince them to come with us then poof, gone lol down?'
Himes can testify, however, to the fact that Betts was a frequent drug user, taking methamphetamine, cocaine - or 'whatever upper he could get his hands on' in days-long binges. Pictured: Betts' ramblings about getting money to buy speed
Mental health terminology is also jumbled into the deranged prose. 'Anti social personality disorder. Don't listen to romantic advice, sociopath. Seek and destroy. Still haven't eaten enough so…very ADHD, paranoid, schizophrenic, strong, bipolar'
Bett's former friend said: 'I'm still mind boggled over it. I don't even know how to feel about knowing the shooter. I feel with every ounce of my being for the people that were shot. 'I just don't know how to feel about knowing him now'
Many of the writings are nonsensical and seems as if he is writing in the third person
'I knew his dad had some guns for protection but I didn’t know that he had guns of his own.
‘He played first person shooter games. Call of Duty was the big one at the time but I wouldn't say he was obsessed with it as he was more keen on getting out the house.
'As for his sister, I met her once, she was definitely more sociable. She wasn't part of the drugs scene. She was very preppy.
'They were polar opposites but he loved his sister. I just don't see him mapping it out like that to seek her out and kill her. I just can't explain it.'
Himes says his former friend struggled to build relationships with females and didn't have a girlfriend the entire time they knew one another.
But he insists that Betts was never overtly misogynistic or racist - in fact, as has been reported in the days since the massacre, he actually championed liberal causes.
'I can definitely assure you he was never racist. The person I met him through is half black,’ Himes added.
'Connor definitely thought Donald Trump was a dumb guy. He didn't like Hillary Clinton either, he was a Bernie Sanders fan if anything. He shot down the middle for the most part.
'He had a hard time having conversations with women. He wasn't a virgin but he struggled to verbally connect. He was tired of getting shot down but that's the same for a lot of guys.'
Himes can testify, however, to the fact that Betts was a frequent drug user, taking methamphetamine, cocaine - or 'whatever upper he could get his hands on' in days-long binges.
'He wasn't much of a drinker, he didn't smoke weed, in fact I only saw him do it maybe once,' recalled Himes.
Betts' disturbing ramblings in the notebooks feature a Satanic symbol with 'Hail Lucifer' and many references to death and murder
Himes eventually drifted apart from Betts and says the last time he saw him was last summer. He believes mental illness can be the only rational explanation for the latest mass gun murder to stun the US
The deranged prose also touches upon the subject of girls - referred to as 'b***hes' - drugs and mental illness
Himes told DailyMail.com the pair never discussed the plot in person. In fact, Himes says he barely looked at the notes at the time, and only went over them in detail after news broke of Sunday's mass shooting
Betts writes: 'The struggle eternal vying for souls to fuel their war machines, order versus chaos, good versus evil (a matter of perspective). 'The chosen, champions of their house, some are chosen, some choose, champions clash'
In further jumbled snippets, Betts adds: 'I am Azrael and this is my human Connor. This human body has so many stupid limits lol. Why? Makes me look less than "average"'
'But he was very consistent with the methamphetamine. I don't know if he got into slamming with needles, but he was pretty much smoking it every day when we were hanging out.
'Coke was also a strong factor but he couldn't afford it so much. It was either that or medications like Adderall or Vyvanse, anything to keep him up for days on end.
'I think that's also why he wrote in the notebooks, he wanted to keep his mind occupied all the time. He didn't want to be alone in his thoughts.'
Himes eventually drifted apart from Betts and says the last time he saw him was last summer.
He believes mental illness can be the only rational explanation for the latest mass gun murder to stun the US.
'I know Connor’s parents are good people, they did their best to help him,’ he said.
‘But they couldn't understand him, they couldn't make him listen. He had a family therapist but it didn't seem to help.
'Ultimately Connor slipped through the cracks. Maybe the notebooks hinted at what he was about to do, but you just cannot anticipate a person doing this.
'Whatever was inside him, he just finally let it take hold of him. He lost the struggle with himself.'
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