"We handled our business and departed," he said. Smith said he offered Lynda Cruz "a shoulder to cry on if nothing else," and worked to connect her with mental health services. Most of the incidents were called in as domestic disturbances, but Smith said that further investigation usually revealed that it "was less than what it was dispatched as." Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. Forrest was the Cruz family’s case manager in 2013.
#LYNDA CRUZ ZACHARY CRUZ TRIAL#
Lynda Cruz "always struck me as overwhelmed and ill-prepared to handle the everyday stress of these two boys, no question," Smith said. "She loved her sons very much so."Ĭapital defense attorney Casey Secor questions Henderson Behavioral Health case manager Tiffany Forrest as she testifies 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. The next year, she called because he'd begun "throwing everything around." Jeffrey Smith, a former deputy with the Broward County Sheriff's Office, said he responded to incidents at the Cruz residence up to five times in the years leading up to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - often for Cruz's younger brother, Zachary.Ĭruz's adoptive mother, Lynda, called to report in 2011 that 11-year-old Zachary Cruz was banging on the wall with a baseball bat, hitting furniture and then his mother. "I know he has ADD, but that does not explain his behaviors." Former Broward deputy Jeffrey Smith describes outbursts at Cruz home "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.
Pardo-Posse was Cruz’s school social worker at Westglades Middle School. 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. "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. 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. 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.
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