Parkland suspect: Donate my inheritance to victims

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nikolas Cruz wants the victims of his Valentine’s Day rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and their families to choose a charity to receive any money he’s got coming to him, his lawyer said Wednesday.

He doesn’t want any money from his mother’s life insurance policy or any other source of income, defense attorney Melisa McNeill said.

“He would like that money donated to an organization that the victims’ families believe could facilitate healing in our community,” she said.

Cruz, 19, was in court Wednesday for a hearing to determine whether he has too much money to expect taxpayers to foot the bill for his legal defense. He is now represented by the Broward Public Defender’s Office, which handles clients who cannot afford to hire their own lawyers.

But whether Cruz falls into that category remains an open question — one that Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer said Wednesday she will not answer immediately.

Cruz, dressed in a red jail jumpsuit, kept his head lowered throughout the hearing and did not speak. His brother, Zachary Cruz, attended the hearing and also did not speak.

Court records from his late mother’s probate case show Nikolas Cruz stands to receive $25,000 from a life insurance policy. McNeill said her office cannot help Cruz access the insurance money.

At one point, the records showed, he had more than $12,000 in a bank account.

That balance was down to $353.43 as of April 5, said McNeill.

Cruz also may have a claim to at least a portion of 24 shares of Microsoft stock purchased in 2003, according to his lawyers. Together, the shares are worth around $2,227.

His mother, Lynda Cruz, received an annuity payment of $3,333 last September, and defense lawyers last month wanted to know whether future payments are pending and whether Cruz can claim any of it.