A judge will review a 12-hour video interrogation of Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz before deciding which parts of what police are calling his confession should be publicly released.
Conducted shortly after the Valentine’s Day massacre, it includes a confession to the shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stone man Douglas High School, prosecutors told Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer at a hearing Friday.
Cruz, 19, said nothing in court and sat at the defense table in chains in a red prison outfit with his head bowed. He stared at the table with his eyes open wide, and at one point broke into a smile.
One difference was that he had a fresh buzz haircut and appeared heavier than in previous hearings.
During a court appearance held in late April, the suspected mass shooter had a full head of hair and looked markedly slimmer.
New look: Nikolas Cruz, 19, appeared in Florida court on Friday with his attorneys looking heavier than before and sporting a buzz cut
Then and now: During a court appearance held in late April, the suspected mass shooter had a full head of hair and looked markedly slimmer (left) than on Friday (right)
Something’s funny?Cruz said nothing in court and sat at the defense table in chains in a red prison outfit with his head bowed, but at one point broke into a smile
Cruz’s lawyers say those portions should not be released and other segments might inflame a community already traumatized by the crime and jeopardize Cruz’s right to a fair trial.
Defense attorneys also expressed concern that other parts of the statement get into Cruz’s mental state at the time of the shooting, which might become an issue if an insanity defense is pursued at trial and jurors have already seen it. Florida law in general requires public release of evidence in criminal cases once prosecutors turn it over to the defense, although parts can be exempted.
‘I don’t know that will be the defense. We haven’t even discussed that yet,’ said Cruz attorney David Frankel. ‘The court can keep certain amounts of it confidential in the interests of justice.’
Attorneys for The Associated Press and other media organizations agreed that some portions could be blocked from release, but argued that as much as possible should be made public.
They noted that cellphone videos Cruz made before the shooting have been made public, and they depict him describing in precise detail what he planned to do, how many people he hoped to kill and why he felt compelled to become a school shooter – almost the same as a confession.
Chilling video was released in late May showing the suspected gunman bragging about his plans to carry out the massacre
In one of the three cellphone recordings made public last month, Cruz looks into the camera and says: ‘You’re all going to die. Pew pew pew. I can’t wait.’
In another, he introduces himself as ‘Nik’ and says he is going to be ‘the next school shooter of 2018.’
He goes on to say: ‘My goal is at least 20 people with an AR-15. … Location is Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida.’
During Friday’s hearing, Judge Scherer said she would review the statement, which covers 200 pages in a transcript, and then decide what should be released.
‘That would be the first step,’ the judge said.
Cruz faces 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the shooting. His lawyers say he will plead guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence, but prosecutors have refused to take the death penalty off the table.