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"Something is very wrong with him," she said. Her son hated to lose, she said, and when he did, he'd start to scream and curse. Lynda Cruz told Pardo-Posse that the walls in her home were "polka-dotted" with spackle from all the holes she'd had to fill. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. Pardo-Posse was Cruz’s school social worker at Westglades Middle School.
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Liliana Pardo-Posse is sworn in to testify via Zoom during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Sept. Nothing is safe."Ī classmate's mother moved her daughter out of Cruz's classroom because she thought he was a "menace to society," according to records from Westglades Middle School. "When he throws a tantrum, things get broken.
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"He starts screaming, kicking, throwing things, and punching holes in the walls," she said. But he also had trouble reading, expressing himself and interacting with children. He was a gentle soul, she said, caring, affectionate, interested in animals and obsessed with Xbox. "Nik is a loving kid," Lynda Cruz told her.
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Lillian Pardo-Posse, a former social worker for Broward County Schools, read aloud an interview she conducted with Cruz's adoptive mother in 2013 to assess her eldest son's strengths and weaknesses. Jorge Milian SeptemLynda Cruz told social worker 'something is very wrong' with Nikolas Cruz The Palm Beach Post is covering the daily proceedings live.Ī social worker who visited Lynda Cruz's Parkland home described it as having "quite a bit of dysfunction." During one visit, Zachary Cruz stepped on a countertop and put his foot in Nikolas' cereal then walked out of the house. If it recommends death, a move that must be unanimous, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will make the final ruling, likely sometime this fall. The 12-person jury will recommend whether Cruz, then 19 and now 23, is put to death or sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. 'Disturbing on a number of levels': Jurors tour preserved crime scene at Stoneman Douglas HighĬruz pleaded guilty in 2021 to killing 17 people and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. Can they persuade one juror to spare his life? 'He dreams of killing others': Witnesses say Nikolas Cruz's childhood marked by paranoia, aggressionĪll it takes: Nikolas Cruz's lawyers concede he killed 17. Thursday.Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz speaks with Assistant Public Defender Tamara Curtis during the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, Sept. The defense team is hoping to persuade at least one juror to vote against the death penalty to secure a life prison term. Prosecutors are seeking a death sentence for the 23-year-old Cruz, who pleaded guilty in October to 17 murders and 17 attempted murders. “No emotions, like maybe a calm after a storm.” “ was calm, flat, wasn’t really talkative, just sitting there,” Michaelosky said, describing one 911 response. James Snell and Deputy Gary Michaelosky wrapped up the day’s testimony describing domestic disturbance calls to the Cruz home 15 times as of 2013. Click here for complete coverage of the Parkland school shooting sentencing trialīroward Sheriff’s Sgt.“Any exploitation of this would be terrible,” Gold answered.
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“Do you agree it would be deplorable for a friend of the defendant to exploit these brutal murders by making a movie and making money?” asked prosecutor Jeff Marcus. Gold defended his phone conversations as an attempt to find out what motivated Cruz to commit these murders. “I’m amazed somebody hasn’t approached you about making a movie,” Gold told Cruz. Gold and Cruz were talking about movies among other things on a call made one year ago. The state played jail phone call recordings for the jurors despite an objection from the defense team that had not reviewed the recordings first. “She lied about her financial situation I found out later she had some money she just chose not to spend any of it.” She had told him Nikolas and Zachary were her biological children and she dropped frequent hints about not having enough money for food so Gold would buy them groceries at times.
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When cross-examined by the state, Gold admitted to a falling out with Lynda Cruz and considered her a pathological liar. Lynda Cruz adopted both Nikolas and Zachary from Woodard, who died last year. Broward Sheriff's deputy fired after teen's rough 2019 arrest gets job backĮarlier defense testimony detailed how Brenda Woodard had alcohol and drug addictions while pregnant with Nikolas.
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