Nikolas Cruz sentencing trial live updates, Day 14: Elementary-aged Cruz called himself a 'freak'

FORT LAUDERDALE — Tuesday marks the 14th day of the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to killing 17 people and wounding 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14, 2018.

Prosecutors pushing for the death penalty rested their case against Cruz on Aug. 4 after 12 days of emotional testimony and graphic evidence of the shooting and its aftermath. Jurors returned to the courtroom this week to hear, for the first time, Cruz's defense in favor of life in prison.

The 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.

Follow along for live coverage of Tuesday's hearing.

'Disturbing on a number of levels': Jurors tour preserved crime scene at Stoneman Douglas High

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Looking ahead: The prosecution is done. Now, Nikolas Cruz's attorneys must work to save his life.

Counseling started early for Nikolas Cruz

John Newnham, a former counselor for Broward County Public Schools, said Cruz was a "shy, somewhat fearful student" in kindergarten. He shrunk away from contact and clung to an adult who showed him around Coral Springs Elementary on his first day there. He avoided eye contact.

During individual sessions with Cruz, Newnham worked to gain the boy's trust. It took longer than with most students, he said. They spoke as they played checkers, and Cruz eventually began to look him in the eye.

Group counseling sessions proved more difficult. Cruz often sat quietly by himself, refusing to participate with the others, Newnham said. When he was responsive, he'd answer questions uncertainly, then look at Newnham as if to ask: Was that the right thing to say?

Elementary-aged Cruz was somewhat of a perfectionist, Newnham said. He'd erase and re-write, and erase and re-write some more until he'd broken the pencil or crumpled the worksheet. There was tension in his actions and visible distress on his face, the counselor said.

Cruz told Newnham that he felt different from his peers; as though he was somehow less-than, and they judged him for it.

" 'I'm just stupid,' " the counselor said Cruz sometimes told him. " 'I'm a freak.' "

In meetings with Newnham, Cruz's adoptive mother Lynda Cruz said she felt frustrated and alone because of her son's behavior. He was defiant and temperamental, Newnham said.

"I got the impression that she did not utilize the supports that were offered to her," the counselor said.

Lynda Cruz seemed overwhelmed and burned out, Newnham said. He remembers making the same recommendations to her as the year went on: respite care, in-home therapy, parenting classes. She didn't follow through on any of them, he said.

She was reluctant to discipline the boys, the counselor said, because she was "somewhat fearful of them." When she tried setting boundaries and enforcing rules, Cruz threw tantrums.

"She appeared not able to handle those very well," the counselor said.

Friend describes Cruz's adoptive mother unwillingness to see his flaws

The defense called Trish Devaney Westerlind, a friend of Cruz's late adoptive mother, Lynda, to testify.

Lynda Cruz was "very loving, motherly, caring," Westerlind said. It's a stark difference from how witnesses described Brenda Woodard, Cruz's biological mother, on Monday.

Lynda Cruz had wanted a child for years, Westerlind said, and when she adopted Cruz in 1998, "she felt like her family was complete." She dressed him in sailor outfits and doted on him.

"He was a cute little baby," Westerlind said.

But he was behind on his milestones, too. Westerlind said he was smaller than the other children, and he didn't speak. Westerlind's daughter, who was about seven months younger than Cruz, would talk for him.

"Zachary even surpassed Nikolas," Westerlind said of Cruz's brother, who is about 14 months younger than Cruz.

Westerlind said Cruz's differences became more obvious when he was around other children. He'd hide behind the blinds during playdates or bite people. It was concerning, Westerlind said. She brought up her concerns to Cruz's mother, but she "didn't want to see anything wrong with him."

Children in the neighborhood would tease him for peeing his pants, and he'd break their toys because of it.

"He'd clench his fists. He'd be, like, really angry," Westerlind said. He never got over things quickly.

Westerlind moved from Florida to New Jersey and fell out of touch with Cruz's adoptive mother. She didn't know Lynda had died until she saw the news of Cruz's arrest for killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on her television.

She also learned then that the Cruz brothers lived briefly with Rocxanne Deschamps, a Lantana-area woman, after their mother died. It surprised her, she said. Lynda Cruz had told her years before that a relative of Deschamps assaulted Cruz.

Prosecutors immediately objected to the allegation, prompting a sidebar. The court adjourned for lunch.

Jurors in Nikolas Cruz trial hear from gunman's pre-K school director

Tuesday's first witness was Anne Marie Fischer. She is the former director of Young Minds Learning Center in Broward County, where 1-year-old Cruz attended in 1999.

Cruz had trouble socializing, Fischer said. Most of the time she saw him, he was expressionless. He often isolated himself from other children until he saw one with a toy he wanted — then he'd walk up, hit the child's hand and take it.

"He had tantrums a lot," Fischer said.

He struggled to grasp things in his hands like crayons and spoons, and he was clumsy. His legs were always bruised from falling. Fischer said.

She wasn't sure if his hearing was impaired, too, so she'd sometimes crouch behind him and whisper to see if he'd respond. He usually didn't.

Cruz sat by the wall closest to the door during activities involving loud noises or music. He seemed overwhelmed, Fischer said. He'd rock back and forth in his high chair and avoid eye contact.

His behavior wasn't the only thing that set him apart from other children, Fischer said. Cruz's "head size didn't go with his body size. His ear size didn't go with his head size."

Fischer told jurors that when Cruz's younger brother, Zachary, began at Young Minds, she didn't believe the two boys were actually related. Even a year younger, Zachary Cruz was bigger than his older brother, she said. He showed none of the same developmental delays.

Fischer met with Cruz's adoptive mother, Lynda, to recommend that she seek additional help for Cruz. Lynda Cruz was resistant at first, Fischer said.

But she "would give the kids the world if she could," Fischer added. She eventually warmed to the idea of getting Cruz help.

"She did the best she could with the knowledge that she had," Fischer said.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Nikolas Cruz trial: Counselor says gunman's mom was resistant to help