On Monday, the defense team for Nikolas Cruz was found guilty of killing 17 people and injuring 17 others during a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018, and started delivering its case.
It turned out to be one of the bloodiest school shootings in US history. Cruz embarked on a shooting rampage when he was 19 years old. He entered a guilty plea in October to 17 first-degree murder charges and 17 murder-attempt charges.
Until February 2017, when he was transferred to an adult learning center, he was a student at the school with a propensity for behavioral issues.
Besides, the current trial lights the details about his mental health is said to be broken by his mother’s drinking issues.
Linda And Roger Cruz: Where Are Nikolas Cruz Adopted Parents?
In affluent Parkland, Florida, Nikolas Cruz was raised by his adoptive family. His parents, Linda and Roger, used a private attorney to adopt Nikolas soon after his birth.
Roger passed away when the boys were still young, and Lynda perished in November 2017—just two months before the tragedy.
Basically, she died from pneumonia in November 2017 at the age of 68. A year before, her son had turned 18. After losing her spouse when Nikolas was a young child, she raised him and his brother, who were both adopted, on her own for a long time.
Linda Cruz was a kind mother who was clogged by two sons with behavioral issues, as per Paul Gold, a longtime neighbor of the Cruz family.
Gold remarked, “Nikolas had serious emotional issues and had trouble regulating his rage.” He claimed Nikolas had a lovely side but that when he “freaked out,” he would “start throwing things, start damaging things, start holding his ears, and start yelling.”
Based on the testimony of Lynda Cruz’s cousin, the Sun-Sentinel reported that Nikolas knocked out a few of his mother’s teeth, and she was still covering the $2,000 in dental expenses at the time of her death.
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His Biological Mother Brenda Woodard Has Lengthy Criminal History
The defense team for Nikolas Cruz claimed that his biological mother’s drug and alcohol use when she was pregnant caused Nikolas Cruz’s brain to be “irretrievably shattered.”
While he was the one who “viciously murdered 17 people,” lead public defense Melissa McNeill claimed in her opening statements that all of the “choices” he made that day were ultimately influenced by his biological mother, Brenda Woodard.
She described how his mother was unemployed, an alcoholic, a drug addict, and working as a prostitute when she became pregnant.
The lawyer stated that the jury would hear from witnesses, including Cruz’s biological sister and a former friend and co-defendant, regarding Woodard’s ongoing alcohol, drug, and tobacco use while she was pregnant.
Per Independent, McNeilclaimed he consumed cigarettes, crack cocaine, and booze as pregnancy vitamins. In contrast, he has an irreparably damaged brain as a result.
Before deciding whether Cruz “lives or dies,” the jury, according to Ms. McNeill, must “understand the person behind the crime.” Cruz, she claimed, had fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).
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Parkland Shooter’s Half-Brother Zachary Cruz Is In 20s
Cruz’s biological mother, Brenda, was pregnant for the second time, but with a different man as the father. She gave birth to his half-brother, Zachary, in 1999.
In a similar way, his adoptive parents, Linda and Roger, also adopted his half-brother, and the two brothers also share a half-sister, Daniella Woodard, who is 31 years old.
According to court documents, Miami-based Daniella also has a criminal past. This includes convictions for assault, evading arrest, and credit card fraud.
In recent news, an advocate for Nikolas Cruz’s biological sister raised a concern with the judge before the jury was called into the courtroom.
It is anticipated that Danielle Woodard, Cruz’s biological sister, will be called to the witness stand on Monday.
Advising that he had not been informed that Woodard would be testifying today, attorney Zach Rosenberg claimed to represent her. He requested that the judge issue a protective order to prevent her from testifying.