Those include murders that were especially heinous or cruel committed in a cold, calculated and premeditated manner or committed during an act that created a great risk of death to many persons. RELATED: Loved ones speak out in Cruz penalty trial: 'Never again will the world feel right' RELATED: Loved ones take stand to share loss, Cruz describing plans to kill shown in penalty trial RELATED: 'i wanna kill people,' 'marjory stoneman douglas' among Nikolas Cruz's online searches Since then, the prosecution has been trying to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cruz committed at least one aggravating circumstance specified under Florida law. In an earlier argument over witnesses, the defense asked for a 45-day postponement between the state and defense cases to get a new witness up to speed. She ordered four depositions to be done this week, using a half-day of testimony on Thursday and no testimony on Friday. The day ended with the jury leaving and Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Scherer hearing lawyers' arguments over expert witnesses. One subject they decided not to present are the results of a highly contentious brain exam they had said supports their contention the mass murderer suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome. He may be asked to discuss his adoptive father dying in front of Nikolas when he was 5, being bullied by his younger brother, and his adoptive mother dying less than four months before the massacre. Lynda Cruz died in November and their father died some years earlier.Hendler Lubar also reviewed school records from 1993 in detail and said she did not remember her long-time-ago student's adoptive parents, Roger and Linda Cruz.Ĭruz’s brother Zachary is also expected to take the stand. Both were adopted at very young ages by Roger and Lynda Cruz. The brothers shared the same biological mother but had different fathers. "If they can do to Zachary what they did to him in the light of day in front of the national media, they can do it to anyone and that should scare all of us," Kimok said. Kimok said his client went skateboarding there because it was one of the few place he felt welcome. The brothers attended Stoneman Douglas but did not graduate. Susan Stocker / Pool via ReutersĪfter the hearing, Kimok called Zachary Cruz's 10-day detention on $500,000 bond for a trespassing charge "immoral and unconstitutional." He said there is no doubt that was done simply because of who his brother is and that no one else would have been arrested. Zachary Cruz, 18, brother of Nikolas Cruz, speaks with his attorney Joseph Kimok as he waits for his bond hearing to begin in Broward court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 29, 2018. Zachary Cruz was fingerprinted and the six deputies led him out. "Then in February, the only family member he had left, his brother, murdered 17 people in cold blood." That put Zachary Cruz's history, which has included counseling and calls about him to police, on national display, Kimok said. He pointed out that the Cruzes' mother died in November, forcing him to live with a guardian miles away. "Zachary has experienced, and continues to experience, a trauma unlike anything any of us could imagine," Kimok told the judge. Broward sheriff's deputies say school officials had told him not to come on campus, but his attorney, Joseph Kimok, denied that. He was arrested March 19 after police found him skateboarding at Stoneman Douglas after school, 33 days after his 19-year-old brother, Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 students and staff members and wounded 17 others during a Valentine's Day shooting. He can never visit the school again and must not contact any victims or their families. The judge also said Cruz must be tested to make sure he isn't consuming drugs or alcohol and must stay at least 1 mile from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during probation. The brother of the suspected Florida high school gunman pleaded no contest Thursday to trespassing on the campus where the deadly rampage occurred and was sentenced to time served and six months of probation.Ĭircuit Judge Melinda Kirsch Brown also ordered Zachary Cruz, 18, to enroll in therapy, wear an ankle monitor and said he cannot possess firearms or ammunition.
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