Nikolas Cruz’s siblings Danielle Woodard and Zachary Cruz are expected to testify on Nikolas’s troubled upbringing and mental state in an attempt to seek a lenient sentence.
Nikolas Cruz is currently facing trial for the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, he killed 17 people including 14 students and three staff at his former high school. He also injured 17 other people in the shooting which has been dubbed one of the most horrific school shootings in the United States of America.
Cruz was just 19 years old when the shooting took place on February 14, 2018. Nikolas entered the school and headed towards a building with over 900 students and 30 teachers casually while carrying a semi-automatic AR 15-style rifle and a backpack.
He started shooting right after entering the hallway and killed three students there, he then shot through the windows of four closed classrooms killing and injuring more students and teachers. In total, he killed 14 students and 3 teachers in his killing spree.
Nikolas was able to get out of the building by blending with the students but was arrested by the authorities an hour later from a nearby location.
Let us learn more about Nikolas Cruz’s siblings and take a closer look at their testimony during his trial.
Who Are Nikolas Cruz Siblings?
Nikolas Cruz’s siblings are Zachary Cruz and Danielle Woodard.
The two are set to speak in favor of their sibling Nikolas during his sentencing trial in an attempt to reduce his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty.
At the trial, Zachary and Danielle are expected to answer questions about Nikolas’s troubled upbringing and his mental state at the time of the shooting.
Although Nikolas was found to have a troubled history of disciplinary and behavioral incidents, his lawyers and siblings believe it was because of his mental condition and childhood traumas.
According to New York Post, Zachary is expected to answer questions about his recent troubles. He is expected to provide insight into his recent mental breakdown following their mother’s death and abuse from his peers.
Danielle is expected to answer questions from the time he was still inside his mother’s womb. She is expected to answer questions regarding their mother’s alcohol and drug abuse while she was pregnant with Nikolas, the substance abuse might have had a long-lasting effect on his mental growth.
Who Are Danielle Woodard and Zachary Cruz?
Danielle Woodard and Zachary Cruz are two siblings of Nikolas Cruz.
Woodard, 32, is Nikolas’s half-sibling, the two share the same biological mother but live apart from each other and had never spoken to each other until recently according to Daily Mail.
Danielle has an extensive history of convictions and arrests, she has been arrested over 22 times and has over 16 felony convictions. She is categorized as a habitual violent offender and is currently in prison for felony carjacking.
She allegedly tried to carjack a 72 old woman and when she drove off the woman climbed back to the passenger seat and was badly injured when the car hit a curb.
Woodard is a mother of two herself, but information about her husband or boyfriends is not available on the web. She has also not shared any details about her two children on the web.
Nikolas and Danielle’s mother Brenda Woodard gave Nikolas up for adoption when he was just an infant. She does not seem to have much connection or contact with Nikolas as of now.
Nikolas’s sibling Zachary Cruz is his only living relative according to BBC. Their parents Roger Cruz and Lynda Cruz are dead, their father Roger died when Nikolas was just 5 years old and their mother Lynda passed away three months before the incident.
While Zachary seems to have a clean sheet in terms of arrest or criminal involvement, he has made several appearances in court for his brother. He has also received hate and boycott from his community.