Nikolas Cruz sentencing trial live updates, Day 12: Loved ones deliver final victim impact statements

Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post
·2 min read

FORT LAUDERDALE — Thursday marks the 12th 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.

For more than two weeks, jurors have heard testimony from teachers and students who survived the shooting; from medical examiners who performed the victims' autopsies; and from others, like an Uber driver and a gun-shop owner, who spoke of their interactions with the gunman.

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.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz rests his head on his hands after the conclusion of the day’s victim impact statements during the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, August 3, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings.

Follow along for live coverage of Thursday's hearing.

'Life is a Roller Coaster': Victim's poem read to jurors

For subscribers: Meet the 80-year-old prosecutor making the case for Nikolas Cruz receiving the death penalty

6 minutes of terror: New revelations rise as Parkland survivors recount Nikolas Cruz attack

Loved ones deliver final victim impact statements

Helena Ramsay's mother was the first person on the stand Thursday. Helena played the clarinet and could jump as high as Dwyane Wade, her mother said. She was murdered on her father's birthday.

The cousin of 15-year-old Peter Wang read a statement written by Peter's mother, who cried beside her on the witness stand. Peter was the perfect son, she wrote. He was goofy, respectful, outgoing and giving. Cruz killed him one day before the Chinese New Year's Eve.

They don't celebrate that holiday anymore.

"Peter, we miss you every day," his mother wrote. "We miss the light that you bring into our lives."

A close friend of Peter read stories from other friends about the teen's impact on their lives. The spirit of each was the same: Peter looked out for them, and he was joyful.

"Cherish your friendships," the friend said before leaving the stand.

The wife of Chris Hixon, the Stoneman Douglas athletic director who, at the sound of gunfire, ran into the freshman building to confront Cruz, spoke next.

"We weren't done making memories," Debra Hixon said.

Chris' son, Corey Hixon, joined his mother at the stand. He wrapped his arms around her and started to cry.

"I miss him!" he 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: Families of 17 killed at Parkland testify about impact