Expert: School shooter's mother drank heavily in pregnancy
Fox News
The trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz continued as the defense continued to argue their case that Cruz's birth mother's alcohol abuse led to shooting
Assistant Public Defender Nawal Bashimam argues in court during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) Neuropsychologist Paul Connor testifies remotely via video about a "tapping test" during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. Connor evaluated Cruz for signs of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Spectrum Disorders. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) Assistant Public Defender Nawal Bashimam and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz look towards Assistant State Attorney Mike Satz as he speaks in court during the penalty phase of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. Connor evaluated Cruz for signs of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Spectrum Disorders. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz stands with Chief Assistant Public Defender David Wheeler as jurors enter the courtroom of Cruz's trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) Assistant Public Defenders Nawal Bashimam and Tamara Curtis speak during the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022. Cruz previously plead guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the 2018 shootings. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool) (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
"I know I have never seen so much alcohol consumed by a pregnant woman," said Jones, a former University of California, San Diego, medical school professor who did some of the pioneering research on fetal alcohol abuse 50 years ago.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty last October to murdering 14 students and three staff members on Feb. 14, 2018, at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. His trial, now ending its second month, is only to determine whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole.