Parkland school shooter sentenced to life in prison as families vow he ‘will be forgotten’

Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for murdering 14 students and three educators — but not before grieving families vented their anger and frustration that he managed to avoid the death penalty.

“After today, nobody will speak of this killer,” Annika Dworet, the mother of slain 17-year-old Nicholas Dworet, told a Broward court. “He will be forgotten.”

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who by law had to sentence Cruz to life after a jury last month rejected the death penalty, struck a positive note as she imposed the sentence, thanking the families who attended the trial and spoke candidly about the lives of those who were murdered.

“They will not be forgotten. I feel I know each and every one of them by the personal stories you have given,” Scherer told the relatives, who after the hearing hugged prosecutors and each other on the final day of the trial proceedings.

The sentence capped a nearly five-year saga that started when Cruz, then 19, entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14, 2018, opening fire in two hallways with an AR-15-style rifle, killing 14 students and three educators. Seventeen others were wounded in what was Florida’s deadliest school shooting.

Cruz was arrested hours after the shooting — which would have wide-ranging implications. The massacre renewed calls for nationwide gun control, cast scrutiny on police response to active shooters, and led to probes of how the school district and mental-health system had dealt with Cruz, a former MSD student.

In October 2021, Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder. The plea set the stage for a “penalty phase” trial — 12 jurors were to consider whether Cruz should be executed, or sentenced to life in prison.

But after nearly three months of graphic and gut-wrenching testimony, a Broward County jury on Oct. 13 rejected the death penalty as punishment for Florida’s deadliest school shooting, leading to calls to revamp Florida’s death-penalty law. Under Florida law, as in nearly every other death-penalty state, jurors must be unanimous in their recommendation for execution.

Three jurors voted for life. Defense attorneys had called for mercy, depicting Cruz as a mentally troubled teen who suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder caused by his biological mother drinking heavily while pregnant.

The verdict for life was binding — Scherer could not override the decision, although she did not sentence Cruz right away. Instead, she set a sentencing hearing to allow relatives of the victims to have a final word.

Emotional and fiery statements

On Tuesday, the first day of the hearing, the victims’ families began giving their final remarks, addressing Cruz in a series of emotional and often fiery statements.

The widow of slain athletic director Christopher Hixon told Cruz she hoped “your name and story will be erased from existence.” The sister of 14-year-old Alaina Petty decried that “every single twisted little freak” hoping to commit mass murder will look at Cruz’s case as a blueprint “to get away with it.”

On Wednesday, Lori Alhadeff recalled trying to warm her daughter Alyssa’s cold body at the medical examiner’s office after the shooting. “She deserved so much more time on this earth,” she said, looking at Cruz seated feet away in a red jail jumpsuit. “My hope for you is that the pain of what you did to my family burns and traumatizes you every day.”

Alyssa’s father, Ilan Alhadeff, decried the justice system. “Do I see this as accountability? Absolutely not,” he said. “What I see is the system values this animal’s life over the 17 who are now dead. You skirted the death penalty and are nothing but a coward.”

It wasn’t just families of the murdered. Samantha Fuentes, a former classmate who was wounded in the shooting, called Cruz a “hateful bigot” and said she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and suicidal ideations.

“Not only do I want to kill myself sometimes,” Fuentes said, “I live in fear that someone like you will finish off the job. You are a nobody now.”

Some families also criticized members of the Broward Public Defender’s Office, which represented Cruz and persuaded a jury to spare his life. Defense attorneys objected, leading to a tense exchange between the judge and one assistant public defender, who was booted from the courtroom.

Parents imagined what could be a miserable existence — and maybe even a violent demise — among other hardened inmates in state prison.

The mother of slain geography teacher Scott Beigel told Cruz she wished every family member could shoot a bullet into Cruz from his own AR-15-style rifle.

“In prison, where other prison inmates are waiting to tear you apart,” Linda Beigel Schulman told Cruz. “From what I hear, child killers are highly frowned upon.”

As Cruz stared blankly at them, parents also focused on the lives of their children.

In a statement read to the court, the mother of 16-year-old Carmen Schentrup recalled fond memories: singing country songs together, going to concerts and musicals, watching her play beautiful songs on the piano. “I miss her laughs and silly faces,” April Schentrup wrote. “I even miss her eye rolls.”

Victoria Gonzalez, the girlfriend of 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver, struck a softer tone. Wearing one of Oliver’s T-shirts, she said she wished Cruz would have met Oliver.

“He would have been your friend. He would have extended a hand to you. He would have loved you,” she said. “You’re a real-life human being. You’re not a character out of a book. I’m sorry you never saw the love the world is capable of giving.”