Jorge Milian is a journalist covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post. When Lynda would show frustration, the boys' would laugh, Forrest said. At one point, she refused to transport the boys together in her minivan because of the chaos that would ensue. Lynda Cruz appeared overwhelmed by raising her two adopted children. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings.įorrest witnessed Zachary bullying Nikolas but indicated there was no evidence of it taking place at Westglades Middle School, where teachers complained in writing that it was Nikolas acting aggressively toward his classmates. Forrest was the Cruz family’s case manager in 2013. Henderson Behavioral Health case manager Tiffany Forrest testifies during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Sept. "You could see there was quite a bit of dysfunction" in the home, said Tiffany Forrest, who was Nikolas Cruz's youth case manager in 2013.įorrest said that Lynda Cruz complained that Nikolas was being "bullied" by Zachary and in school. Social worker Tiffany Forrest: 'Quite a bit of dysfunction' in Cruz homeĪ social worker testified Friday that she once saw Zachary Cruz get on a table top at his Parkland home and step on food being eaten by Nikolas, his older brother. "We handled our business and departed," he said. Smith said he offered Lynda Cruz "a shoulder to cry on if nothing else," and worked to connect her with mental health services. Most of the incidents were called in as domestic disturbances, but Smith said that further investigation usually revealed that it "was less than what it was dispatched as." Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. Lynda Cruz "always struck me as overwhelmed and ill-prepared to handle the everyday stress of these two boys, no question," Smith said. "She loved her sons very much so."Ĭapital defense attorney Casey Secor questions Henderson Behavioral Health case manager Tiffany Forrest as she testifies during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Sept. The next year, she called because he'd begun "throwing everything around." Jeffrey Smith, a former deputy with the Broward County Sheriff's Office, said he responded to incidents at the Cruz residence up to five times in the years leading up to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School - often for Cruz's younger brother, Zachary.Ĭruz's adoptive mother, Lynda, called to report in 2011 that 11-year-old Zachary Cruz was banging on the wall with a baseball bat, hitting furniture and then his mother. "I know he has ADD, but that does not explain his behaviors." Former Broward deputy Jeffrey Smith describes outbursts at Cruz home "Something is very wrong with him," she said. Her son hated to lose, she said, and when he did, he'd start to scream and curse. Lynda Cruz told Pardo-Posse that the walls in her home were "polka-dotted" with spackle from all the holes she'd had to fill. Pardo-Posse was Cruz’s school social worker at Westglades Middle School. Liliana Pardo-Posse is sworn in to testify via Zoom during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Sept.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |