Parkland killer’s life or death, Day 50: Ex-teacher kept gunman’s schoolwork; judge chastises lawyers

Editor’s note: Daily coverage of the Parkland trial is being provided to all readers as a public service.

Here are updates from Day 50 in the sentencing trial of confessed Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz, 23; a jury will decide if he will be executed or sentenced to life in prison without parole. He pleaded guilty in October to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

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  • Crucial insights: The jury heard from Nikolas Cruz’s eighth-grade teacher and saw records she kept of his disturbing schoolwork. Carrie Yon, testifying on Zoom, said Cruz’s behavior scared her and she knew he was going to be a problem. His classwork included curse words, racial slurs and drawings of swastikas and homicidal stick figures shooting each other.
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Documents kept in a file by Westglades Middle School Carrie Yon are shown on a screen in the courtroom 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 Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. Yon was Cruz’s 8th grade language arts teacher during the 2013-2014 school year and documented his behavior. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • Ex-principal testifies: John Vesey, former principal of Westglades Middle School, said his school was the wrong environment for someone with Cruz’s demonstrated behavioral problems, and he recommended a transfer to Cross Creek School. “He was a much more needy kid than any kid I had ever seen,” Vesey said. Vesey said he was disappointed to later learn Cruz was at Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
  • Contact with witness: Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill sought a 24-hour recess, saying one of the prosecutors may have committed prosecutorial misconduct, an issue sure to resurface as the sentencing trial proceeds. Former principal John Vesey said he was contacted by a lawyer he knows and prosecutor Jeff Marcus in a phone call earlier Thursday. He signed a sworn affidavit saying said the lawyer friend was concerned that Vesey’s testimony would “negatively affect individuals within the Broward County School District.” Marcus said the defense was mischaracterizing the conversation.
  • Courtroom decorum: Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer chastised the attorneys for what she called unprofessional behavior in the courtroom. She said they were being rude to each other, talking over each other and not addressing their comments to the judge.
  • Mistrial rejected: Defense lawyers failed in their attempt to bar the school assignments from being presented to the jury. They listed the numerous times they asked Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer before jury selection to rule on whether the swastikas would be admitted, saying her failure affected the questions they asked prospective jurors and their trial strategy. They asked for a mistrial, which Scherer angrily rejected, calling their argument “disingenuous.”
  • Prosecutor: Former Broward State Attorney Mike Satz cross-examined Carrie Yon, the first time he’s questioned a witness since the prosecution rested.
  • Looking ahead: Testimony is scheduled to continue Friday.

Go to SunSentinel.com/parkland-shooting for complete coverage of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School tragedy and ongoing coverage of the sentencing trial.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.