BREAKING NEWS – School shooter Nikolas Cruz looks down in court as he makes brief appearance with his sympathetic public defender while the funerals of his 17 victims continue
Cruz, 19, appeared at a court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Monday for a hearing
His lawyers requested the hearing to ask the judge to keep some files sealed
Judge Elizabeth Scherer granted their request without saying what was in the files
Cruz looked down throughout the brief, ten-minute hearing and spoke only to his public defender Melissa McNeill
After his first appearance last week, she said he was a ‘broken person’ who was ‘remorseful’
As he appeared in court, mourners were burying one his victims at a funeral in Coral Springs
Alaina Petty, 14, was laid to rest by family and classmates who brought pink flowers to the service
At another church in Coral Springs, 15-year-old Luke Hoyer was laid to rest by his family
By JENNIFER SMITH
DAILYMAIL.COM
19 February 2018
Nikolas Cruz, the teenage gunman who slaughtered 17 people in a high school massacre last Wednesday, appeared in court on Monday.
The 19-year-old did not look up once as he sat at the defense table in a red prison jumpsuit.
It was a procedural hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Cruz was joined by his sympathetic public defender Melissa McNeill who last week put her arm around his shoulder as he faced a judge. She described him as a ‘broken person’.
The hearing was at the request of his defense and was to do with documents which the defense want to keep sealed.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer granted their request and said the document was ‘solely’ to do with them having access to Cruz. She did not say what the files contained.
Cruz is being held in a maximum security prison on 17 counts of murder.
On Monday, he shuffled out of court with shackles around his waist and feet.
As Cruz appeared in court in Fort Lauderdale, funerals for his victims continued near the school.
On Monday, 14-year-old Alaina Paige was laid to rest at a funeral at her Mormon church.
Grieving students brought pink flowers to the service.
Among the mourners were children who brought stuffed animals for comfort.
Hers was the most recent of 17 funerals which will take place as a result of Cruz’s rampage.
In a statement released earlier in the week, Alaina’s family said she ‘served her community’.
She, like fellow victim Peter Wang, was a member of the JTROC cadets.
‘Alaina loved to serve.
‘She served her community through her participation in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas JROTC program and her countless hours of service as a volunteer for the ‘Helping Hands’ program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.’
The kind-hearted teenager also went to Florida last year to help with the clean-up after Hurricane Irma, her family said.
‘Her selfless service brought peace and joy to those that had lost everything during the storm.
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