Unfortunately this case is not an easy one and is incredibly sad. 17 young lives were taken away and thousands were changed forever by the actions of one 19 year old boy.
Prior to the tragic events
We begin with the childhood to better understand the monster before us. It must be said that all this information was presented by the defense and does in no way excuse this cowards actions, however I believe it is important to discuss.
Nikolas Cruz was born to a mother who abused drugs and alcohol whilst he was still inside the womb. It is believed that this led to fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. It was testified in court that Nikolas grew up in a ‘polluted’ womb. One friend stated his mother would do anything she could get her hands on. Given this obvious inability to care for a child Nikolas was adopted at birth by Lynda and Roger Cruz. Things seemed to be fine for the happy family when they welcomed a baby boy named Zachary just a few years after adopting Nikolas. Problems began showing themselves early however with preschool teachers noting Nikolas had trouble communicating with other children. It was so noticeable that he was evaluated and found to be socially and emotionally developmentally delayed. This lack of socialization will later become a key factor in the motive behind this case. At just aged 5 his father, Roger, collapsed in front of him at the family home having passed away from a sudden heart attack. This type of experience can be traumatizing especially for a young boy of only 5.
He was allegedly bullied by his brother and even sexually abused by a ‘trusted peer’. Whether the sexual abuse is true or not remains to be seen however if this is true it is easy to see the type of affect this could have on an already fragile mind. Again it is important to note here we are not excusing any of his later crimes but merely trying to understand the mind of the killer and what could drive someone to commit such acts. At age 14 a school psychologist learned he was having dreams about killing people and covering himself in blood. The treatment he received for these sorts of comments was clearly not enough given his later crimes.
Throughout his school years Nikolas was a loner and didn’t have any friends. He would also get into trouble during school with it coming to a head when he had a physical fight with another student. In a later interview he talks about how he was embarrassed about this fight because he had lost. Below is a short clip of t
I think the final straw for Nikolas was when his mother died, the shooting took place just 3 months after this. Losing both parents is a devastating thing to happen and probably left Nikolas thinking he was more alone than ever. It should also be mentioned during this time Nikolas began experimenting with illegal drugs such as Xanax pills and marijuana. Unfortunately Nikolas also had an obsession with guns and owned many guns, such as the AR-15 used the day of the shooting. In an interview he said he brought the gun because it was cool looking. It is sad but I think the guns gave him the idea he had power and this is what he liked. Having been a loner his whole life the guns were some company for him.
This video is very telling and shows how this young man craved power, wanting some kind of sick revenge on the community he felt ostracized him. It is also important to remember this video when watching clips of him later trying to convince detectives he was insane and not of competent mental capacity at the time of the shooting.
On February 14th 2018 Nikolas Cruz decided to carry out his crimes and brutally stalked the hallways of Stoneman Douglas. He murdered 14 students and 3 teachers in cold blood. He also injured 17 other students and caused mental suffering for so many others. This was a merciless attack given the students could not protect themselves. Some who died were shot multiple times to ensure they were dead. During the crime Nikolas wore earphones and played songs such as ‘Salad days’ by Mac Demarco and ‘Panzermensch’; the latter Cruz claimed was picked by a demon that lived in his head. After the attack Cruz walked to a nearby Mcdonalds and ordered a slurpee. He then sat calmly and drank this before leaving the restaurant. Watching the footage of him after the murder you would not be able to tell he had just committed one of the worst atrocities that Florida had ever seen. Thankfully he was arrested quickly and he is a clip of the actual arrest.
The clip foreshadows his attempt at an insanity plea as he tries to claim that he doesn't know where he is or what is happening. I think the cop puts it best when he says 'shut up'.
The Interrogation
His interview is fascinating as he tries to portray himself as crazy using a bad act, which at some points is almost laughable. Initially he goes quiet but does divulge that a demon lives inside his head and tells him to do things. Below is a clip of him in the interview room in which he looks to the camera and puts his fingers to his head imitating a gun and then saying ‘kill me’. While this may look like a genuine act if you pause the video right before he does this gesture you can see a first gesture when he raises his hands as if he is holding his rifle again and begins to smirk. He quickly realizes that he is on camera and then switches back to his act of insanity. I have included the full clip below and also freeze framed the moment right before he switches back to his act.
Moving forward with the interview Nikolas starts to scratch himself in an attempt to prove he was suicidal and not in control at the time of the murders. He also claimed that he spent a lot of time harming himself even claiming he did that morning to which the detective asks him to show him however all he can see are tiny scratches on his arm. Immediately the detective calls bullshit and it is quite fascinating to watch. Obviously if true self harm is a serious issue and is not something to be shut down however in this case we can clearly see that Nikolas is using this to try and garner some sympathy. It is also worth noting that if he really wanted to kill himself that he had spent large parts of that day with an AR 15 in his hands and had committed no harm to himself.
During the interview Nikolas continues to state that the voices in his head made him commit this murder. The detective clearly doesn’t buy this act and suspects that he is trying to diminish his responsibility for the crimes. He goes on to say the voices told him to 'burn, torture and kill' but when the detective asks him for examples of the times he has done this only a meek answer of setting fires in fire pits and shooting a few birds comes out. I have included a short clip of him talking about the voices.
There is also another telling clip where Nikolas starts pretending to see things in the room. The detective immediately dismisses this and asks him another question to which he responds instantly and stops the charade.
Near the end of the interview the detective starts to call out his story and I think this is the moment where nikolas realizes he fucked up and that his act isn’t fooling anyone. The detective starts by outright saying ‘I don’t think the voices are real’. He then goes on to continue to press that he believes Nikolas is putting on an act asking why he didn’t speak to anyone before he committed these crimes.
The full interrogation is over 3 hours long and can be found below. I would also like to say that mental illness is a serious issue and should not be taken lightly. However in this situation it is clear the suspect is using this to limit his culpability and get a lighter sentence. I would also like to commend the detective as the interview skills on display are quite incredible as he manages to cut through the charade by developing rapport but also calling out on things he feels is bullshit.
See the full interrogation below.
Brother comes to visit.
The detective permits a brief meeting between the two brothers and their embrace is actually warm. It is surprising to see Nikolas actually display emotion as we haven't seen this yet, however I don't think this is any kind of guilt and more a reaction to being caught.
This next clip is quite an emotional moment for Zachary as it is clear he blames himself for the crime stating ‘I wish I could have prevented this’ and ‘I feel like this is all my fault’. It's quite a sad clip to watch from the brothers perspective as this is clearly something he will carry with him for the rest of his life.
In an amazing display of love Zachary emphasizes that he still loves his brother and will be there for him no matter what. It's quite incredible how the brother can still even display these emotions at a time like this. Coming to the end of their meeting the brother once again displays love and compassion toward his brother. Unfortunately this love has come all too late.
An Emotional Courtroom.
Obviously the courtroom was highly charged with emotion given the number of young lives taken away by this monster. The Jury recommended life imprisonment given the death penalty had been taken off the table. The families were clearly angry at this and directed a lot of this anger towards the defense team given it was their evidence that stopped Nikolas from receiving the death penalty. It is easy to understand their anger as this individual is the worst of the worst so surely the worst punishment should be brought upon him. During all the victim impact statements Nikolas sat meekly in his chair showing no emotion or remorse for his crimes.
Below are clips from some of the most impactful things said by the victims' families.
Another very moving and powerful statement is made by the girlfriend of Joaquin Oliver. She delivers a painful and heartfelt account of how she is now ‘alone all the time’ because of him. It also speaks to the kind nature of this individual as she states ‘I wish you met Joaquin because he would have been your friend’. She goes on to state ‘I’m sorry you never saw the love the world is capable of giving’. It is quite remarkable she can have such compassion towards this individual and actually feel empathy with the man that killed her beloved boyfriend. It is very very powerful as she remembers having class with him and wishing he would find love. ‘I would have wished for love for you’. I have included the full video of this statement below as it is so heartwarming and this person is clearly an incredible individual.
There are many many emotional victim impact statements however the final one i will include here is the statements made by Joaquin's father. If you do wish to watch more impact statements they can be found on youtube. One of the lines I find most interesting is when Manuel says he son ‘would have beaten the shit out of you’. We know this was the actions of a coward and Manuel sums this up perfectly.
Manuel then directs a lot of anger towards the defense attorney saying ‘they have seen your faces’. He also goes on to say he will be killed in prison and that his suffering will be long and painful. ‘Your gonna die before me and I will celebrate’. Finally Manuel finishes his speech by talking about ‘karma’.
At the end of the trial Nikolas Krus was sentenced to life imprisonment rather than the death penalty. As much as this angered people he would now suffer for everyday of his life in prison as mentioned by Linda Beale.
Before I conclude, the last piece of information we have about the killer comes via a video clip which shows him attacking a prison guard and attempting to steal his taser. It is a shocking clip and demonstrates the real danger this man poses to society.
Nikolas is currently serving life imprisonment in an unknown prison due to fears over his safety. This was a difficult case to cover given so many lives have been impacted by just this one person's actions.
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