FORT LAUDERDALE – A psychologist who addressed Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz when he was 8 a long time previous testified Wednesday that Cruz was a “peculiar baby” who experienced many behavioral and developmental issues but his widowed mother appeared confused and was not steady in her self-discipline or in acquiring him treatment method.
Frederick Kravitz reported he commenced treating Cruz in 2007 on a referral from Cruz’s psychiatrist with Lynda Cruz telling him her adopted son experienced from nervousness and nervousness and experienced issues controlling his temper. But she also claimed he was pleasant and received alongside great with his friends – promises that a neighbor, preschool instructors and an elementary college exclusive instruction counselor have testified were being not accurate.
Kravitz claimed that when he recommended weekly periods for Cruz, his mom only brought him 15 times about a 13-thirty day period span, a decade right before he murdered 17 men and women at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Significant College on Feb. 14, 2018.
He explained that was a important issue – Lynda Cruz would concur that her son required far more constant treatment method and she desired to be much more steady in her self-control of him and his young 50 percent-brother, Zachary, but did not follow by way of. She was 57, depressed from her husband’s sudden 2003 loss of life and dealing with two “tumultuous” youthful little ones, he said.
They would yell, toss tantrums and break furnishings, he reported.
“They lifted it to an artwork type,” Kravitz mentioned. “Nikolas was very easily set off and Zachary seemed to derive some pleasure from pushing Nikolas’ buttons.”
That would established off their mother, something the two boys appeared to get pleasure from.
“She missing her great commonly and backed down to the boys commonly, which only created the problems even worse,” he reported. He said he attempted to perform with her, but she felt ashamed by her sons’ behavior and felt men and women were being judging her.
Cruz’s lawyers are in Working day 3 of their protection, hoping to persuade his jury to sentence him to life with out parole alternatively of death. Cruz, 23, pleaded responsible in October to 17 counts of initial-degree murder and the trial, which commenced July 18, is only to determine his sentence.
The protection is trying to conquer the prosecution’s scenario, which featured surveillance movie of Cruz, then 19, mowing down learners and personnel with an AR-15-design semiautomatic rifle as he stalked a 3-story creating for 7 minutes, photographs of the aftermath and a jury check out to the setting up.
For Cruz to acquire a loss of life sentence, the jury need to be unanimous. If one juror votes for life, that will be his sentence.
The protection has focused on the psychological and psychological problems Cruz exhibited from his earliest days. Testimony has demonstrated that his delivery mom was a road prostitute who abused cocaine and alcoholic beverages and as a toddler he was developmentally delayed, typically violent to other children and teased and bullied for his modest stature, abnormal appearance and odd actions. When he was 8, he acted like a 6-year-aged, at best, Kravitz explained.
“He stood out like a sore thumb,” he claimed.
He explained Cruz had a concern of abandonment mainly because of his father’s dying and his adoption and had an lively “undesirable imagination.”
“He was incredibly fearful his mom would ignore to decide on him up (at school) and he would be stuck there,” Kravitz mentioned, even even though that never transpired.
He explained Cruz experienced some signs of obsessive-compulsive ailment – for case in point, he generally had to have accurately 8 rooster nuggets.
He explained he asked Cruz what his 3 needs would be.
“Pokemon, a doggy and additional Pokemon,” Kravitz said.
Lynda Cruz died in November 2017, about 4 months prior to the taking pictures.
Beneath cross-examination, Kravitz conceded that Cruz’s mother did get him more psychiatric and psychological cure and may possibly have been unwilling to continue to keep her son’s appointments with him because of the $87 for each go to copay her insurance expected.
Prosecutor Jeff Marcus questioned Kravitz is there was anything about Cruz when he was 8 that would have indicated he would ultimately commit mass murder. He reported no.
“I’ve labored with some other pretty harmed little ones and certainly to the most effective of my know-how none of them have at any time acted out like this,” Kravitz mentioned.
