In emotional sentencing hearing, Parkland victim family members confront Nikolas Cruz: “Burn in hell.”
In the first day of Nikolas Cruz’s sentencing hearing on Tuesday, family members of the 14 students and three staff members killed by the Florida 24-year-old told him he would “burn in hell” and “die as nothing.”
After a Broward County jury recommended life in prison for Cruz in mid-October, survivors of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School attack vented their anger and grief.
“I’m too told to see you live out your life sentence, but I hope your ever-breathing moment here on earth is miserable and you repent for your sins Nikolas and burn in hell,” said the grandmother of victim Alyssa Alhadeff.
The 14-year-grandfather, old’s David Robinovitz, called Cruz “Parkland murderer” in his statement.
“Parkland murderer, there’s going to come a day – it could be a week from now, it could be a month from now, it could be 40 years from now – you are going to die. When you die, it is my fondest hope that they take you and burn you and take your ashes and throw them in the garbage dump,” Robinovitz told Cruz, who was wearing red prison clothes.
“You know why? Because garbage to garbage,” Robinovitz concluded. “And at that time Parkland murderer it is my hope that you go somewhere to meet your maker of whatever it is and Parkland murderer I hope your maker sends you directly to hell to burn for the rest of your eternity.”
After David Robinovitz left the podium, Cruz looked around the room.
“After today, I don’t care what happens to you. You’ll be sent to jail, you will be getting your punishment. You’ll be a number and for me, you will cease to exist,” she said. “You wanted to see the families suffer – well, no more. We will not just survive, we will thrive and we will honor Chris and the other 16 beautiful people that you took from us with positive action and wonderful memories.”
Chris’ sister Natalie Hixon informed Cruz, “After tomorrow nobody cares about you or what is going to happen to you.”
“You are nothing,” she replied.
