FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Court TV) — Opening statements in the penalty phase for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz began Monday, July 18. A seven-man, five-woman jury was selected in June.
Last October, Cruz pleaded guilty to murdering 17 people and wounding 17 others in the 2018 high school massacre in Broward County, Florida. Now, that jury is tasked with recommending whether Nikolas Cruz should be sentenced to life in prison or receive the death penalty.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown at the defense table during jury selection in the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
It’s been over four years since Cruz, AR-15 rifle in hand, opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. The Valentine’s Day tragedy remains one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.
Emotions are expected to be high, as families of the 17 murder victims prepare to deliver impact statements, along with the 17 attempted murder victims who survived their injuries.
Last Fall, Cruz — through his attorneys — offered to plead guilty to all charges in exchange for a life sentence. The prosecution, however, rejected that offer.
The State will push for Cruz, who is now 23, to be put to death for his crimes, while the defense team is expected to fight for their client’s life.
Typically, the same jury hearing the guilt phase would also hear the penalty phase. Because there was no guilt phase, a fresh jury was empowered to decide the solitary issue of whether Cruz should receive life in prison (no parole for murder in Florida) or an execution by lethal injection.
The penalty phase proceeds much like a regular trial. The state will call witnesses and present evidence in support of statutory aggravating factors that prosecutors claim merit the death penalty. The defense will present mitigating factors in support to make the case for life in prison. The prosecution’s case in front of the jury, expected to last three weeks, will re-create the horrific scene on several fronts. Survivors and relatives of the slain will deliver victim impact statements; video reenactments and renderings will bring jurors through the halls of the school Cruz rampaged; and a contested jury view will bring the panel in-person to the scene where Marjory Stoneman Douglas High’s doors have remained closed since the fateful day.
#49 – DANNY KRYSTYAN – BCSO CRIME SCENE DETECTIVE
#48 – IOURI BOIKO – ASSOCIATE MEDICAL EXAMINER – BROWARD COUNTY
#47 – DET DAVID ALFIN – CORAL SPRINGS PD
#45 – CAPT. NICHOLAS MAZZEI – CORAL SPRINGS PD
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE JURY VISIT — After Judge Scherer allowed the jury visit to go forward over defense objections, the defense requested a handful of “proactive measures” in two motions (attached) to prevent the visit from having a prejudicial impact on Cruz. Among the highlights:
#38 — BENJAMIN WIKANDER – FORMER MSD STUDENT, ROOM 1213
#39 – CARLOS RUGELES — SUBWAY EMPLOYEE WHO SERVED CRUZ AN ICEE
#40 – JOSE DE LA CRUZ – MCDONALD’S AREA SUPERVISOR
#41 JOHN WILFORD – FORMER MSD STUDENT
#42 OFFICER MICHAEL LEONARD – COCONUT CREEK POLICE
#43 – OFFICER KYLE GREENE – CORAL SPRINGS POLICE
#37 – NICOLETTE MICOTTA — MSD STUDENT, BUILDING 9
#36 – TYLER WEST — MSD STUDENT, THIRD FLOOR STUDY HALL, ROOM 1249
#34 – MARIAN KABACHENKO — MSD STUDENT, GEOGRAPHY CLASS (SPOKE THROUGH RUSSIAN INTERPRETER)
#33 – ERNEST ROSPIERSKI – MSD TEACHER, GEOGRAPHY, AP HISTORY
#31 – VERONICA STEEL — MSD STUDENT, THIRD FLOOR, ROOM 1257
#30 – STACEY LIPPEL – MSD TEACHER, THIRD FLOOR
Survivor accounts continue. No cross exam of these witnesses, just as in other days. Defense objects to photos taken of the victims in the hospital and student’s cell phone video from inside class 1213.
#29 – LOGAN MITCHELL — MSD STUDENT, ROOM 1213 WITH MS REOVEN
#28 – MADELEINE WILFORD — MSD STUDENT, ROOM 1213 WITH MS REOVEN
#27 – SAMANTHA MAYOR – MSD STUDENT, ROOM 1213 WITH MS REOVEN
#26 – RONIT REOVEN – MSD TEACHER, ROOM 1213
#25 – SOFIA D’ELIA – FORMER MSD STUDENT, ROOM 1215
EMOTIONAL — #24 – JULETTA MATLOCK – MSD TEACHER, ROOM 1215
#23 – IVY SCHAMIS – FORMER MSD SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHER, ROOM 1214, HOLOCAUST STUDIES ELECTIVE
#22 – GENESIS VALENTIN – FORMER MSD STUDENT
#21 — ASHLEY BAEZ – FORMER MSD STUDENT
BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, ELECTRONICS SURVEILLANCE TECHNICIAN
SOFTWARE ENGINEER, AVIGILON, MAKER OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERA SYSTEMS
#10 – CHRISTOPHER MCKENNA – MSD FRESHMAN IN 2018
#11 – WILLIAM OLSON – MSD FRESHMAN IN 2018
#12 – ALEXANDER DWORET — MSD FRESHMAN IN 2018
#13 – KHESHAVA MANGAPURAM – MSD FRESHMAN IN 2018
#15 – ISABEL CHEQUER – MSD JUNIOR IN 2018
#16 – DANIELA MENESCAL – MSD JUNIOR IN 2018
#17 – SAMANTHA GRADY – MSD JUNIOR IN 2018
#18 – SAMANTHA FUENTES – MSD JUNIOR IN 2018
#19 — ANA MARTINS – MSD FRESHMAN IN 2018
#20 – MICHAEL POWELL – MSD TEACHER NOW AND IN 2018
STATE OPENING BY ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY MICHAEL SATZ
STATE WITNESS 1 – BRITTANY SINITCH – MSD TEACHER IN 2018; FORMER MSD STUDENT
STATE WITNESS 2 – DANIELLE GILBERT– MSD JUNIOR IN 2018
STATE WITNESS 3 – DYLAN KRAEMER – MSD JUNIOR IN 2018
STATE WITNESS 4 – MAXIMO ROSARIO – FORMER MSD ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
STATE WITNESS 5 – JAMES KESSLER – SYSTEMS ANALYST
STATE WITNESS 6 – CARLOS CASTELLO – RETIRED FBI SPECIAL AGENT
STATE WITNESS 7 – GASTON NIEVES – Digital forensic examiner, FBI
Court TV field producer Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report.
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