Parkland killer’s life or death, Day 49: Former neighbor gives more insight into shooter’s childhood

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Paul Gold, who lived next door to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz from 2008-2011, looks at photographs as he is questioned by capital defense attorney Casey Secor 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 Wednesday, August 31, 2022. 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 via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

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

Here are updates from Day 49 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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  • Mother’s funeral: Paul Gold, a former neighbor and former fiance of the woman who took in the Cruz boys after their mother died in 2017, testified he gave Cruz a ride to his mother’s funeral. So few people came that Gold said he told Cruz the wrong date was printed in the newspaper.

Paul Gold, who lived next door to Nikolas Cruz from 2008-2011, testifies during the penalty phase of the trial of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • Movie potential: In a phone call recorded in the jail, jurors heard Gold tell Cruz he was friends with a movie producer who worked with big-name actors such as Brad Pitt and Tom Hanks. “I’m amazed somebody hasn’t approached you about making a movie,” Gold said in the August 2021 call.
  • Shooter’s identity: Gold also testified he called Cruz to tell him about the shooting at the Parkland high school when he first heard about it. He said he was horrified and distraught when he learned Cruz was the shooter. “I couldn’t even imagine that it was him,” Gold said.
  • Quote of the day: “The first time I met him I knew that this kid was just not right,” former neighbor Paul Gold told jurors after taking the stand Wednesday afternoon.
  • Looking ahead: Testimony is set to resume Thursday morning.

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