Defense lawyers are introducing testimony about Cruz and his mental health in a bid to convince jurors he was in a lifelong battle for control of his own behavior.Ī jury’s unanimous vote is required to sentence Cruz to death otherwise he will be sentenced to life in prison.FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. “You can see the love she had for him by looking at this picture,” Browd said.Ĭruz faces the death penalty for each of the 17 murders he committed. In another photo, Lynda Cruz kisses his chubby cheek when he was a baby. And Nikolas looks just like mommy.’”ĭuring her recorded testimony, Browd held up a photo of a smiling Lynda Cruz holding baby Nikolas after his baptism. And she told Zachary, ‘You look just like daddy. She’d tell Nikolas he looked just like her when she was his age. “She let people think he was her own biological child. Lynda Cruz kept the adoption of Nikolas secret from her own family and her husband’s family as well, Browd testified. “My best friend, my soulmate is no longer here,” Browd recalls her friend telling her. Lynda Cruz was left alone to to raise two boys. Just before he turned 6, Nikolas saw his father die. They had to be cooked in a microwave, no other way. Nikolas insisted on eating specific foods, living on a diet of chicken nuggets and hot dogs. His hand coordination wasn’t developed like Zachary. “Zachary could do things Nik couldn’t,” she said. Though two years older than his brother, Nikolas was far behind in many ways, Browd testified. The odd behavior went on “forever,” she testified. When we’d tell him to stop he wouldn’t listen.” “He’d out of the clear blue sky start acting like a lion,” she said. He’d stand for hours at the window wailing, waiting for her return.Įven more bizarre were the moments he’d growl and roar like an animal, Browd testified. “She couldn’t go anywhere,” Browd testified. Lie down and scream and cry.”Īs a young boy, he was so attached to his mom it was hard for her to leave him even to run errands. “A full-blown tantrum, kind of out of control. “He’d have tantrums when he didn’t get his way,” she said. By the time Nikolas was 4 years old, you could tell he was different, Browd said. He showed no self control, ripping up other children’s classwork and calling them names.īut the highlight of Monday’s testimony was Browd’s recording. He was quiet and kept to himself, avoiding interaction with his classmates. Nikolas was thin and very small for his age, she said. It was clear he had behavioral and language problems, she told the jury. She taught Nikolas Cruz in both third and fourth grade. Lynn Rodriguez, a retired special ed teacher, was Monday’s first witness. His progress remained slow for years, she said.ĭefense lawyers have asserted that Cruz suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome as a result of his biological mother’s habits while she was pregnant with him. Cruz did not start speaking until he was 2 years old, she said, later than most children. The jury also heard from speech pathologist Shameka Stanford, who reviewed the defendant’s history and said exposure to alcohol could have had an impact on his brain development. Defense lawyers hope to drum up enough sympathy for Cruz to persuade the jury to spare his life. The jury is tasked with deciding whether Cruz should be sentenced to death or life in prison for the 17 murders he committed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. Prosecutors agreed to let the defense introduce the recording for the jury’s consideration. In poor health, Browd was unable to attend the trial. Her video testimony was recorded before the trial started. Browd offered more glimpses into the Parkland gunman’s childhood, his frequent tantrums, quirky eating habits and inability to get along with other children his age. Jurors heard the story from Finai Browd, a family friend who knew the late Lynda and Roger Cruz from their time in New York and, with her husband, followed them to South Florida.
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