Nikolas Cruz’s childlike signature can be revealed in court documents obtained by and his scrawl-like writing reveals his chaotic, impulsive personality, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The signature was contained in a court document filed last week but was signed by Cruz on February 15, a day after he killed 17 people at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
According to two handwriting experts, it is indicative of a nonconformist who does not know who he is and has a desire to stand apart from the crowd.
Their analysis of the writing fits with Cruz’s history as a mentally unstable orphan who was adopted at birth and has a tendency for violent outbursts.
This is gunman Nikolas Cruz’s signature. Experts say the disjointed, chaotic letters which are of different sizes indicate his impulsiveness and nonconformist personality
Cruz’s signature is at the bottom of a court document where he declared he had been given his Miranda rights
Ruth Brayer, a court-certified handwriting expert and the author of Handwriting: Let the Power of Your Pen Change Your Life, said the small sample gave away key components of Cruz’s personality.
‘This is the signature of a nonconformist. He breaks the rules. He does not go by the rules. The whole handwriting is distorted and the letters are out of control,’ she told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
Brayer pointed to the letter o which, instead of a perfect circle, appears more like the number 6.
‘For a man of the age of 19, he should know how to do a circle,’ she noted.
As a whole, it is inconsistent which indicates his recklessness and impulsiveness, she added.
‘The spacing is wide and narrow. It is inconsistent. The size of the writing is large and then small. It is disjointed, there is no connection between the letters which means he does not connect to people in other words.
‘He is also not grounded, like his handwriting is not grounded to the imaginary baseline, his letters fly up.
‘Chaotic and impulsive’: Experts said the 19-year-old’s handwriting was indicative of his character and the disruption in his family life
Every time Cruz has signed his signature, there are variations in it. Experts say his failure to keep his writing on the baseline shows he is not grounded and the fact that the letters do are disjointed suggests he has trouble connecting with other people, they said
Identity crisis: Cruz was adopted as a baby by Lynda Cruz (above with him). His adoptive father died in front of him in 2004 and Lynda died in November
Cruz and his brother Zachary are pictured at their adoptive mother’s funeral in November
‘This means he can be assertive out of the blue and unexpectedly asserts himself with nobody knowing why.’
She added that it was ‘underdeveloped’ and ‘neglected’ and indicated an ‘identity issue’.
‘There is definitely an identity issue here. He cannot understand his identity which I think is probably key.
‘It could be the writing of someone who does not know how to write,’ she said.
Sheila Kurtz, CEO and founder of Graphology Consulting, agreed with her analysis.
Independently, she gave a similar description of what his handwriting revealed.
‘His signature veers to the left, an indication of introversion.
‘The letters are inconsistent, with no set rhythm. It is very difficult or impossible to know what his moods are likely to be, or when,’ she told DailyMail.com.
Kurtz pointed out the capital K in Nikolas which Cruz signed twice as large as the other letters.
Nonconformist: Both handwriting experts said Cruz, above in an Instagram picture, is someone who ‘breaks the rules’
She said this indicated a tendency to defy authority.
‘There are also tenacity hooks in the defiant K and these indicate that he holds on to his defiant feelings and may well act on them at any time,’ she said.
Cruz, 19, is in custody on 17 murder charges
‘There is also a large capital “L’ and capital “S” in his first name, a sign he wishes to stand apart from anyone else.’
She also hinted at identity issues, saying: ‘The “a” in his name is formed in a way that signals “family” problems that are undealt with.’
Neither could speak to the pressure applied to the paper by Cruz’s pen without viewing the document in person.
The notice was uploaded to the online docket at the Broward County Court Clerk’s website.
Cruz remains behind bars in a maximum security facility awaiting his next court date.
The handwriting experts’ testimony matches his family history and mental health background.
He was adopted as a baby by Lynda Cruz and her husband who he later watched die of a heart attack.
Lynda died in November and Nikolas bounced between the homes of two sets of family friends.
One threw him out because he wanted to keep a gun on the property.