![]() Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the chairman of a state commission investigating the shooting separate from the prosecution, said Wednesday that all of Cruz's background is relevant. The American Bar Association guidelines for defense lawyers in death penalty cases say they should closely examine all the defendant's past family, going back at least three generations. The identity of Woodard, first reported Wednesday by the Miami Herald, was confirmed to the Associated Press by a person close to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is an ongoing prosecution. ![]() "It might not carry the day, but it will give the jurors another mitigating factor to consider," he added. "Her use of drugs and alcohol while she was pregnant with him, and how her genetic makeup was passed on to him." Weinstein, a former state and federal prosecutor now in private practice. "It is not necessarily her past, but how her past contributed to his genetic makeup," said David S. But her past, which included a crack cocaine purchase arrest while she was pregnant with Cruz, will almost certainly be brought up for a jury considering whether he should live or die. The mother, 62-year-old Brenda Woodard, played no role in Cruz's upbringing after giving him up for adoption after he was born. In his confession to police, Cruz told the detective that he heard voices that urged him "burn, kill and destroy."Ĭopyright 2018 by WPLG - All rights reserved.FORT LAUDERDALE – The extensive criminal and drug abuse history of Parkland school suspect Nikolas Cruz's biological mother could be a key factor in whether he sentenced to die for the massacre that killed 17 people, legal experts and officials say. Their arguments could be bolstered by Cruz's biological family history. With the prosecution seeking the death penalty, defense attorneys are expected to argue for a lesser sentence because of his history of mental health problems. Cruz confessed to killing 17 people and wounding more than dozen others in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but he entered a plea of not guilty. She is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence on several charges including the second-degree attempted murder of a police officer.Ĭruz's family background could become a factor his upcoming murder trial. Court records show Daniella, who lived in Miami, also has a significant criminal history, including convictions for battery, resisting arrest and credit card fraud. Nikolas and Zachary have a half-sister, 31-year-old Daniella Woodard. Jail records show that Woodard has not attempted to contact Nikolas since the shooting. Roger Cruz died when the boys were young while Lynda passed away in November of 2017, two months before the shooting. The identity of Nikolas' father was not disclosed at the time of the adoption, family friends told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.Ī year later when Woodard became pregnant again, this time with a different father, Lynda and Roger adopted that child, Zachary.ĭaniella Woodard, Nikolas Cruz's half-sister, is currently in prison.įamily friends said Lynda Cruz doted on the boys, and neither Roger nor Lynda had legal troubles. Lynda and Roger Cruz adopted Nikolas from Woodard shortly after his birth in 1998, using a private attorney. ![]() In the three decades of legal records, many of Woodard's convictions are for minor crimes or driving or vehicle violations, but she has also been accused of many violent crimes including beating someone with a tire iron. Court records show that Woodard has not been charged with any additional crimes since 2011. – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School gunman Nikolas Cruz grew up with his adoptive family in upscale Parkland while his biological mother lived only miles away in various locations in Broward County, repeatedly getting trouble with the law, public records show.īrenda Woodard, Cruz's biological mother, now 62 and living in Hallandale Beach, has a lengthy criminal history that includes convictions for battery, grand theft and drug possession that date back to 1988 - 10 years before Cruz was born.
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