Nikolas Cruz sentencing trial live updates Day 7: Autopsies reveal how three girls died at Parkland
FORT LAUDERDALE — Follow along for live coverage of the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty last year to killing 17 people and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14, 2018.
A 12-person jury will recommend whether Cruz, then 19 and now 23, is put to death or sentenced to life in prison without parole. If it recommends death, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will make the final ruling, likely sometime this fall.
Cruz lived briefly with a family friend near Lantana in the weeks before the Parkland shootings.
Stoneman Douglas, Day 6: Nikolas Cruz sentencing trial live updates Day 6: Medical examiners detail several Parkland deaths
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Prosecution presenting autopsy details for each victim to jury
Over the past week, prosecutor Michael Satz has been working through the 17 autopsies performed on victims of the Parkland shooting
Tuesday's testimony ended with Dr. Marlon Osborne detailing that examinations of Gina Montalto, 14; Helena Ramsay, 17; and Jaime Guttenberg, 14.
Osborne said Ramsay sustained a fatal gunshot to the head while Guttenberg was killed by two gunshots – one that entered the back of her left shoulder and exited through her neck, and a second that entered her torso and severed her spinal cord.
Guttenberg was shot from behind after she made it through a door into a stairwell.
Ramsay was killed while she sat in her Holocaust history class.
Montalto was struck by gunfire several times at close range and was one of the first victims shot by Cruz.
The trial will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Fatal shots came while AR-15 pressed up on girl's body
Two fatal gunshots that struck 14-year-old Gina Montalto were fired from such a close range that the rifle's muzzle left markings on the girl's skin, a medical examiner testified Tuesday afternoon.
"The end of the gun muzzle was in contact with clothing," said Dr. Marlon Osborne, who now works with the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office but performed the the teenager's autopsy while employed with Broward County.
Montalto, who was outside a classroom when Cruz entered the freshman building, was one of the first people shot.
Osborne said Montalto sustained fatal wounds to her left chest and left upper abdomen. Those gunshots, Osborne said, likely came following a gunshot to the girl's right hand, which she possibly raised to protect herself.
Montalto's parents were in the courtroom during Osborne's testimony. Tony Montalto, Gina's father, wept and stared intently at Cruz during and after Osborne's testimony.
DNA analyst said items found at school belonged to Cruz
The first witness of Tuesday's afternoon session is Broward Sheriff's Office DNA analyst Rebecca Santiago.
Under questioning from prosecutor Michael Satz, Santiago testified that DNA evidence proves various pieces of the shooter's arsenal – rifle, gun magazines, a backpack and more – found at the scene belonged to Cruz.
Santiago is the day's third witness.
Medical examiner details fatal gunshots to students and teacher
Among the most gut-wrenching moments during the trial have come this week with testimony from medical examiners discussing the injuries sustained by victims while grieving family members are in the courtroom.
On Tuesday morning, Broward County Chief Medical Examiner Rebecca MacDougall detailed gunshot wounds sustained by 14-year-old Alex Schacter, including one fatal bullet that entered the boy's left chest and went through his lung before damaging his spinal cord.
Alex would not have been able to walk if he had survived the shooting, according to the testimony.
Max Schacter, Alex's father, sat in the front row of the courtroom weeping and shaking his head 'No' as MacDougall explained that a second wound that entered Alex's chest could have also proved fatal.
MacDougall also did autopsies on student Alyssa Alhadeff, 14, and geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35.
Alhadeff, who sustained defensive wounds to her hand while attempting to protect herself, was killed by a shot that went through her left chest and heart, MacDougall said.
Beigel, killed as he tried to usher students back into his classroom when the shooting broke out, suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and left back that tore into his heart and spinal cord.
Either shot would have been fatal, MacDougall said.
Cruz told gun-shop owner he wanted AR-15 'to go shooting with my friends'
The man who sold the AR-15 rifle that Nikolas Cruz used to kill 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas testified Tuesday that the confessed shooter said he was purchasing the weapon "to go shooting with my friends during the weekend.".
Less than a year later, Cruz would use the gun he bought for $614 to unleash his mayhem.
Michael Morrison, the owner of Sunrise Tactical Supply, said Cruz, then 18, filled out paperwork to buy the AR-15 on Feb. 11, 2017. Following a five-day waiting period, which does not including weekends, Cruz picked up the weapon.
"What are you going to do with the gun? Morrison said he asked Cruz.
Cruz responded by saying he planned to go shooting with friends and, "I just want my own stuff," Morrison said.
Morrison said as a gun shop owner he was required to "look for any red flags why this sale should not happen."
The state approved Cruz's application to purchase the gun. At the time, 18-year-olds were legally allowed to purchase firearms in Florida. The law has been changed and now requires the customer to be 21.
Jorge Milian is a journalist covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post. He also has covered the Parkland shootings since the day they happened. You can reach him at jmilian@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at Caneswatch. Help support our work. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Live updates: Medical examiners detail how 3 Stonemen Douglas girls died
