Nikolas Cruz sentencing: Parkland trial delayed due to hurricane threat in Florida
The sentencing trial of Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz is postponed
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The sentencing trial of Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz has been delayed once again as Hurricane Ian continues to strengthen on its path towards Florida.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer postponed the trial until Monday when the state will resume its rebuttal case.
The rebuttal began on Tuesday with witnesses testifying that Cruz’s gun magazine and boots were decorated with swastikas. Jurors were also shown his internet history, including searches for Nazi paraphernalia and child porn as well as racist comments about Black people.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Charles Scott then detailed how he disgnosed Cruz with antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder, also known as sociopathy, is a mental disorder where ab individual consistently shows no regard for right and wrong, ignores the rights and feelings of others and shows no remorse for their actions, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Jurors were shown video clips from Dr Scott’s interviews with Cruz back in March 2022 as evidence of how he reached his diagnosis. In the clips, the mass shooter tries to claim that he placed swastikas on his items as a symbol “of peace” and describes how he skinned and burned lizards alive from the age of four.
The state is seeking to show that Cruz is a sociopath who planned his attack and has no remorse for murdering 17 victims – challenging Cruz’s defence that fetal alcohol spectrum disorders led him to carry out one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
On Valentine’s Day 2018, Cruz, then 19, travelled to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 and gunned down students and staff.
In October, Cruz, now 24, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder.
Jurors will now decide whether to sentence him to death or to life in prison.
Prosecutors to begin rebuttal
Prosecutors will begin the rebuttal case on Tuesday morning in the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz.
The state is expected to call witnesses to challenge Cruz’s defence that behavioural and psychological issues, including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) caused by his biological mother drinking while pregnant, led him to carry out the 2018 mass shooting.
Instead, witnesses are expected to testify that Cruz has antisocial personality disorder and is fully responsible for his murderous rampage.
Someone with antisocial personality disorder commits “exploitive, delinquent and criminal behavior with no remorse,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
The rebuttal is expected to last two weeks, after which time the jury will deliberate as to whether to sentence him to death or to life in prison.
The trial will begin at 9.30am ET.
Hurricane Ian not expected to disrupt trial
Hurricane Ian is not expected to disrupt the court proceedings, with Broward County Courthouse confirming it is continuing with normal operations for now.
Ian strengthened into a category 3 storm on Monday before making landfall in Cuba early on Tuesday.
Meteorologists have warned it could grow into a category 4 storm as it heads towards Florida.
Mandatory evacuations are underway in parts of the state amid warnings of flash flooding, strong winds, storm surge of up to 10 feet and possible isolated tornadoes.
Trial resuming after judge refused defence’s request to stand down
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer and the defence will meet in the courtroom once again after a two-week break, during which Nikolas Cruz’s attorneys called for the judge’s removal.
Cruz’s team filed a motion accusing her of being biased against the murderer and prejudicing the jurors who will decide on his sentencing.
In the court documents, the defence said that the judge’s comments toward them and to the jury were “the zenith of the cumulative disdain”.
Judge Scherer denied the motion calling it legally insufficient.
The motion came after the judge launched into a scathing admonishment of the defence after it suddenly rested its without warning.
Cruz’s legal team previously said it planned to call around 80 witnesses but only around 25 witnesses took the stand before the defence made the bombshell move to rest on 14 October.
“Honestly, I have never experienced a level of unprofessionalism in my career. It’s unbelievable,” Judge Scherer scolded Cruz’s attorneys in the courtroom.
Nikolas Cruz, victims’ families enter courtroom
Nikolas Cruz, the defence team and the prosecution team entered the courtroom at around 9.30am ET ahead of the day’s proceedings.
Cruz, who turned 24 on Saturday, was seen speaking to David Wheeler at the defence table.
Several family members of the victims entered the courtroom and sat in the gallery minutes later.
The victims’ families have been present throughout the trial, being forced to listen to harrowing testimony about their loved ones’ final moments.
Judge denies new defence motion for mistrial
Judge Elizabeth Scherer has denied a new defence motion for a mistrial.
Before the jury entered the courtroom on Tuesday morning, the defence requested a mistrial based on the judge’s ruling to allow the gun used in the massacre and Nikolas Cruz’s drawings of swastikas to be shown in court.
The judge immediately denied the request.
She said that the state is permitted to enter evidence in the rebuttal that was not previously admitted in the trial.
Tuesday’s first witness: Sgt Gloria Crespo
The first witness called to the stand in the state’s rebuttal is Sgt Gloria Crespo, a crime scene investigator on the case.
The officer testified that she found and photographed Nikolas Cruz’s AR-15, the Smith & Wesson M&P 15, in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the immediate aftermath of the massacre.
Jurors shown gun magazine with swastika
The AR-15 used by Cruz to murder 17 students and staff members was brought into court and shown to the jurors.
Sgt Gloria Crespo testified that she photographed the gun on the third floor stairwell where Cruz left it following the massacre.
Jurors were shown a photo of the gun at the scene and a photo of a 30-capacity magazine, with a swastika scratched on the side.
The sergeant testified that there were two swastikas on the magazine – one on each side.
Second witness testifies to seeing swastika on Cruz’s boots
Broward Sheriff’s Office Detective Clint Williams is the second witness to testify, joining over video call.
He visited the local hospital in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day attack where he came into contact with Cruz.
He testified that he seized and photographed his boots.
The court was shown a photo of Cruz’s black military style boots which had a swastika carved into them.
He said the Nazi symbol was carved into the right boot, while there was nothing on the left boot.
Jurors hear Cruz’s racist and Nazi online searches
Nikolas Cruz’s racist and Nazi online searches are being revealed in court.
Detective Nicholas Masters, an electronic data analyst with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, searched Cruz’s online search history and internet activity from the lead-up to the 2018 massacre.
He read out several of Cruz’s searches where he searched for Nazi paraphernalia and information, used racist language and spoke of his hatred for Black people and searched for nude images of little girls.
On 17 September 2017, Cruz searched for “Nazi flag buy”. The next month, he carried out a search for Hitler’s birthday. He later searched for a swastika tattoo.
Much of Cruz’s online activity revealed his hatred of Black people and threats to kill.
“I can’t wait to kill Black people and rape a girl in 2020,” he wrote online.
“I will kill as many Black people as I can.”
Cruz also carried out searches for nude images of young girls prior to the massacre.
Among the searches were the phrases “little girls naked in shower” and “little girl p***ies”.
The gunman also wrote online about hating people and animals and claimed he killed 12 cats.
Under cross-examination, the defence pointed out that Cruz had also conducted online searches for mental disorders, group therapy sessions, autism and “lonely and loneliness”.
Detective Masters testified earlier at the trial, during the state’s case.
During that testimony, he read aloud several of Cruz’s other online searches for information and videos about mass shootings, including those at Virginia Tech, in Las Vegas and at Columbine High School.
He searched for how many rounds were fired in the massacres, the weapons used and information about the gunmen, the court heard.
Court is on morning recess
The judge ordered an extended recess after Detective Nicholas Masters’s testimony, so that she could hear arguments for motions from the defence and prosecution.
The two legal teams are arguing over evidence that the state plans to admit in its rebuttal.
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