Witness recounts traumatic moments from Nikolas Cruz’s youth, including his father’s sudden death

Court testimony has shed light on the troubled upbringing of Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland shooter, as his defence seeks to spare him from the death penalty. Witness Finai Browd, a friend of Cruz’s late adoptive mother, recounted harrowing details of Cruz’s early life, including witnessing his adoptive father’s fatal heart attack at the age of five.

According to Browd’s video testimony, Cruz ran to his mother, crying, “Daddy’s dead.” His father, Roger, had collapsed in their home’s den while Cruz and his younger brother Zachary were nearby. Following the tragedy, both boys attended a grief support group, but jurors heard that Cruz did not receive proper counselling until four years later.

Browd described Cruz as a child with severe behavioural issues, characterised by violent tantrums and aggressive tendencies that made it difficult for him to interact with peers. She also recalled an incident involving Cruz’s inappropriate behaviour towards a young girl. Despite these challenges, his mother, Lynda, indulged him to avoid outbursts.

Lynda Cruz, who adopted Nikolas and Zachary after enduring four miscarriages, raised the boys alone after Roger’s death in 2004. In November 2017, just three months before the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Lynda also passed away, leaving the brothers orphaned.

On 14 February 2018, Cruz carried out one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history, killing 17 students and staff members. He has since pleaded guilty to 34 charges, including murder and attempted murder.

The defence argues that Cruz’s actions were shaped by his tumultuous life, from exposure to drugs in the womb to the deaths of his adoptive parents and ongoing mental health struggles. Jurors must now decide whether Cruz will face life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty.