He recalled one particular incident of violence, when Nikolas Cruz’s dog died after eating a poisonous toad in the neighborhood. Gold testified that Lynda would unplug appliances and turn off her air conditioning to cut costs. She also started padlocking the refrigerator which was kind of weird… the kids would raid the refrigerator and eat everything even though everything really wasn't that much,” he said. “It seemed like there was not enough food in the refrigerator. He told the court he occasionally brought groceries to the family and had the boys come over to play with his children. Paul Gold, who was her neighbor from 2008 until 2011, gave testimony the following day.
LYNDA CRUZ PARKLAND TRIAL
South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz speaks with assistant Public Defender Gabe Ermine and paralegal Melissa Sly during jury pre-selection in the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.Īfter her husband's death, Lynda Cruz took extreme measures to save money.
“She would have to make herself kind of like a straight jacket type thing where she had to hug him while he was having these episodes,” Browd told jurors. The two boys caused trouble, but Nikolas was especially hard to control. By that time she had adopted another boy, Zachary. Her husband Roger died when Nikolas was 5 years old. 29 testimony.īut Lynda’s joy turned to struggle, according to witnesses. “She always wanted to be a mother,” Browd said during her Aug. She remembers Lynda being ecstatic to bring her baby home when she adopted him at birth. In the first two weeks of their case, they traced Cruz's life from before he was born into his behavioral problems in middle school.Īmong some of the most impactful testimony was that of Browd, the long-time friend of Nikolas' mother Lynda Cruz. They hope it will be enough to persuade one juror to not back the death penalty, which would be enough for him to get life in prison instead. The death penalty trial for the Parkland trial resumed this week after a week-long break and Cruz's lawyers have continued to take jurors through his life chronologically as they seek to prove his difficult childhood contributed to the violence.
0 kommentar(er)
