‘His Brain Is Broken’: Parkland School Shooter’s Biological Mother Used Drugs and Alcohol While Pregnant, Lawyer Tells Jury – By Alberto Luperon (Law and Crime) / Aug 22, 2022
The Parkland school mass shooter was “damaged” since before birth, an attorney told jurors on Monday. Nikolas Cruz, 24, was exposed to intoxicants in the womb because his biological mother Brenda Woodard used drugs and alcohol while pregnant with him, lawyer Melisa Alice McNeill of the Broward Public Defender’s Office told Florida jurors in opening statements.
The lawyer said that Cruz was born by C-section. He had the “cord” wrapped around his neck three times, she added. He was blue for the first minute of his life, had to be resuscitated, and his extremities remained blue for five minutes, she said. When Cruz was three and a half years old, he was determined to be acting like a child that had just turned two, McNeill said.
The defendant was developmentally delayed and received inconsistent help in getting better, the attorney said. For example, adoptive mother Lynda Cruz did not follow up on Cruz visiting a psychologist when he was 3, McNeill said. He was on and off medication in elementary school, with Lynda citing the cost, the attorney said. Cruz did improve when he was in a structured, supportive environment, the lawyer said.
