Prosecutors want Parkland school shooter’s medical records on mental health, broken arm
Legal squabbles surrounding the confessed Parkland school shooter continued Tuesday afternoon as defense attorneys and prosecutors debated whether medical records about his broken arm at the time of the shooting are legally relevant.
Prosecutors want access to 20-year-old Nikolas Cruz’s medical records from an orthopedic center, as well as a Broward County psychologist. Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said she will make a decision on the prosecution’s requests by the end of the week.
Cruz faces a potential death penalty after killing 17 students and staff members, and injuring 17 others, when he opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14, 2018. It was Florida’s worst school shooting.
Cruz’s defense attorney argued that allowing prosecutors access to his medical and mental health records would violate his right to privacy.
Cruz was treated for a broken arm at Northwest Broward Orthopedic Associates before the shooting, according to court records.
Prosecutors said records about the broken arm — and exactly when he received a cast — will help them build a timeline of his actions in the days and weeks before the massacre and determine if he was given medication.
Before the shooting, Cruz recorded several videos detailing his plans to shoot people at the high school, and the cast is visible in the clips. The records could also provide yet another clue that Cruz methodically planned the mass shooting, cutting off the cast even though he was supposed to be wearing it.
Prosecutors are also waiting on the judge’s decision about Cruz’s mental health records from a Coral Springs psychologist. A doctor’s business card was found on Cruz when he was arrested, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors argued that Cruz’s mental health records are relevant because he told deputies he heard voices in his head and he “proclaimed lack of situation awareness at the time of arrest,” according to court records.
The trial is likely to begin January 2020.
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 7:47 PM.