Cruz pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, and the ongoing phase of his criminal trial is to determine his sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death …
By Eric Levenson, Denise Royal and Sara Weisfeldt | CNN
The defense also called its first two witnesses, a woman who testified Cruz’s birth mother used drugs and alcohol while pregnant and Cruz’s sister, who described life with a “horrible mother.”and 17 counts of attempted murder, and the ongoing phase of his criminal trial is to determine his sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, while Cruz’s defense attorneys are asking the jury for a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cruz first received special education services at age 6, struggling in school socially and academically throughout his young life, she said. In November 2017, his mother Lynda Cruz died, which McNeill said uprooted any stability in his life. By the time of the shooting, law enforcement had visited his home more than 40 times“We will tell you Nikolas’s life story so that we can give you reasons to vote for life. That’s what I’m going to ask you to do,” she said.The defense’s first two witnesses testified Brenda Woodard, Cruz’s birth mother, used drugs and drank alcohol while she was pregnant with Cruz.
“She introduced me to a life that no child should be introduced to,” she added. “She had no regards for my life or his life.”
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