Nikolas Cruz sentencing: Parkland trial delayed due to hurricane threat in Florida

It began before he was even born: Nikolas Cruz’s biological mother drank alcohol and abused drugs while he was still in the womb.

At the age of five, his adoptive father suddenly collapsed and died in front of him in the family home. In his teenage years, he was allegedly bullied by his brother and sexually abused by a so-called “trusted peer”. At 19, he became an orphan when his adoptive mother died from pneumonia.

And just three months later, he murdered 17 innocent students and staff in a shooting rampage at his former high school.

“Without any one of those problems, it may never have happened,” Abigail Marsh, professor in the Department of Psychology and the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University, tells The Independent.

“For any given person there is a causal explanation, a link… and, on average, people who become mass shooters or are very violent have had these experiences or risk factors. There’s no one thing that you can say that is the reason but, together, a perfect storm of risk factors can give the means, motive and opportunity.”

These so-called risk factors have all come into focus in recent weeks as Cruz’s team of public defenders tries to convince a jury of his peers that his life should be spared.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp details what jurors have learned about Cruz’s start in life and speaks to a psychologist and criminal defence attorney about what impact this truly had on him committing his crime and whether or not it will make any difference in the eyes of the jury:

On Valentine’s Day 2018, Cruz traveled to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

There, the then-19-year-old stalked all three floors of the freshman building, shooting and killing 17 students and staff members.

Cruz, now 23, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

Now, the jury will decide whether to hand him the death penalty or to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Here’s what we’ve learned so far in the trial:

Chilling jailhouse drawings and notes have revealed Nikolas Cruz saying he wants to “go to death row” and then be “buried with a woman who had a s***ty life like me”.

The disturbing sketches and ramblings were scrawled by the mass murderer while he is being held behind bars in Broward County Jail.

In the 30 pages of incoherent ramblings, the 23-year-old has drawn disturbing images of the devil and pictures appearing to depict the Valentine’s Day 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

He also blames others for his decision to murder 17 innocent victims in the attack, speaks of his hatred for BSO and says he wants to be dead.

Some of the notes also appear to have been written in blood.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Seventeen students and staff members were murdered in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day 2018.

The 14 students killed were: Alyssa Alhadeff, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Jaime Guttenberg, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup and Peter Wang.

The three adults killed were: Scott Beigel, Chris Hixon and Aaron Feis.

Debbi Hixon, who should have recently celebrated her 32nd wedding anniversary with her husband Chris, told The Independent ahead of the start of the trial that the trial is a way for people to hear the stories of each of the people who were killed that day.

“People say the 17 parents and the 17 students [when they talk about Parkland],” she said.

“People don’t know the story of each individual who was lost and, for us who lost them, that’s the story. And it’s frustrating that it isn’t about those who were lost.”

She adds: “All the 14 beautiful children and three adults that were lost. They all have their own story.”

Here are their stories:

One of the key parts of the defence’s argument is that he suffers from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) caused by his biological mother abusing alcohol and drugs while pregnant.

FASDs are conditions caused by an individual being exposed to alcohol in the womb before birth.

According to the CDC, alcohol is passed from the mother’s blood to the baby via the umbilical cord.

It is surprisingly common, occurring in up to 1 in every 20 people, according to FASD United.

The effects of FASD can vary but typically include both physical problems and behavioural and learning problems.

Signs and symptoms include: learning disabilities, small head size, hyperactive behaviour, poor reasoning and judgment skills, difficulty in school and intellectual disability, among other things.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

Almost 70 documented incidents of violence by age 19. Boasts online of being “the next school shooter”. Tips about threatening behaviour ignored by the FBI. Unlocked and unmanned gates at the school. Students and staff left to wander hallways while no active shooter alert was made. A school resource officer who hid from the gunfire for more than 45 minutes.

Nearly everything that could have gone wrong that day did.

While the survivors and families of the victims have waited more than four years for their day in court, some changes in gun laws and school safety measures have come more quickly.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, launched in the aftermath to investigate both the shooting and the response to it, made several recommendations of what must change going forwards.

The investigation found that there were catastrophic errors in the response to Cruz’s actions that day.

And, ahead of the day itself, a whole host of disturbing warning signs had also been ignored about what Cruz would go on to do.

The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has the full story:

In a move that caught the entire courtroom off guard earlier this month, Nikolas Cruz’s defence team announced it was resting its case in his sentencing trial.

The 23-year-old mass murderer’s legal team previously said it planned to call around 80 witnesses to the stand as they try to convince jurors to sentence him to life in prison instead of to death.

But, at the start of the court session on 14 September, Cruz’s lead attorney Melisa McNeill suddenly revealed that the defence was resting – after calling only around 25 witnesses.

While the bombshell announcement instantly plunged the courtroom into chaos, it also meant jurors would no longer hear from several widely-anticipated witnesses.

Here are some of the key witnesses who had been expected to testify:

Nikolas Cruz, the man convicted of shooting dead 17 people and injuring 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on 14 February 2018, is now facing a sentencing trial for his crimes.

Cruz – a former student at the institution who was a member of its air rifle team and had a lengthy disciplinary record – was just 19 when he arrived that day in an Uber bearing a legally-purchased AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and gunned down 14 students and three members of staff in what proved to be one of the deadliest school massacres in American history.

He was arrested later that day by police and pleaded guilty to 17 charges of first-degree murder and 17 of attempted murder, his actions sparking a nationwide protest movement demanding tighter gun control measures and an unsavoury political debate in which survivors of the attack including David Hogg and Emma Gonzalez were accused of being paid “crisis actors” by conspiracy-minded members of the right-wing commentariat.

Here’s a timeline of the massacre:

In the rebuttal, prosecutors are seeking to challenge Nikolas Cruz’s defence that behavioural and psychological issues, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) led him to carry out the massacre.

Instead, they are arguing that he has antisocial personality disorder and so he planned his attack and has since shown no remorse for his actions.

Antisocial personality disorder is a mental disorder where the individual consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Often referred to as sociopathy, people with the disorder often break the law and engage in criminality, commit acts of violence, lie and abuse alcohol and drugs.

They show no guilt or remorse for their behaviour.

Early symptoms include behavioural problems such as aggression toward people and animals, stealing, destroying property and deceitfulness. Typically, adults with the disorder will have begun showing signs and symptoms of the disorder before the age of 15.

On Valentine’s Day 2018, Cruz traveled to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

There, the then-19-year-old stalked all three floors of the freshman building, shooting and killing 17 students and staff members.

Cruz, now 23, pleaded guilty in October 2021 to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.

Now, the jury will decide whether to hand him the death penalty or to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Here’s what we’ve learned so far in the trial: