FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� A grieving father erupted in anger Tuesday as he told jurors about the daughter Florida school shooter murdered along with four years ago, his voice rising as he recounted her 鈥渋nfectious laugh that I can only get to watch now on TikTok videos.鈥�
Dr. Ilan Alhadeff鈥檚 emotional testimony about his 14-year-old daughter Alyssa marked a second day as families, one after another, took the witness stand to give heartrending statements about their loved ones who died at Parkland鈥檚 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018.
He and described Alyssa鈥檚 role as captain of her soccer team, the friend others always turned to for advice or a shoulder to cry on, and her plans to become a business lawyer. He cried as he recounted how he will not dance with his daughter at her wedding or see the children she would have had.
鈥淢y first-born daughter, daddy鈥檚 girl was taken from me!鈥� yelled Alhadeff, an internal medicine physician. 鈥淚 get to watch my friends, my neighbors, colleagues spend time enjoying their daughters, enjoying all the normal milestones, taking in the normal joys and I only get to watch videos or go to the cemetery to see my daughter.鈥�
He said one of Alyssa鈥檚 two younger brothers was too young to comprehend her death when it happened, but now 鈥渁sks to go see his sister at the cemetery from time to time.鈥�
鈥淭his is not normal!鈥� he said angrily.
Cruz, 23, the trial is only to determine whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole. Over the two days of family statements, he has shown little emotion, even as several of his attorneys wiped away tears and Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer鈥檚 voice broke when she gave directions. He mostly stares straight ahead or looks down at the table where he sits.
As one family testifies, others sob in the gallery while awaiting their turn. When finished, they stay to lend support. They exchange packets of tissues, shoulder rubs and, when breaks come, hugs. Some jurors wipe away tears,
Some families had statements read for them. The mother of 14-year-old Martin Duque wrote that while he was born in Mexico, he wanted to become a U.S. Navy Seal. The wife of assistant football coach Aaron Feis wrote that he was a doting father to their young daughter and a mentor to many young people.
The mother of 16-year-old Carmen Schentrup wrote that she was a straight-A student whose letter announcing she was a semifinalist for a National Merit Scholarship arrived the day after she died. She wanted to be a doctor who researched amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig鈥檚 disease.
Shara Kaplan sobbed as she told the jurors of her two sons鈥� sadness that they weren鈥檛 there to protect their little sister, 18-year-old Meadow Pollack.
Luke Hoyer鈥檚 mom, Gina, said the 15-year-old was her 鈥渕iracle baby,鈥� her 鈥淟ukey Bear.鈥� She said he yelled down that Valentine鈥檚 Day morning to thank her for the card and Skittles she鈥檇 placed in his bathroom. The gifts stayed there for a year. His father, Tom, said he never saw his son that morning, but yelled up 鈥淗ave a good day鈥� as he hurried to work. 鈥淭hat is the kind of exchange you have when you think you have tomorrow,鈥� he said.
Fred Guttenberg, who has become a national advocate for tighter gun laws, said he regrets that the last words he said to his 14-year-old daughter Jaime weren鈥檛 鈥淚 love you鈥� but instead, 鈥淵ou gotta go, you are going to be late鈥� as he pushed her and her older brother out the door that morning. He said his son is angry with him for telling him to run when he called in a panic to say there was a gunman at the school instead of having him find his sister, even though it would have made no difference.
His wife, Jennifer Guttenberg, said that while her daughter was known for her competitive dancing, she volunteered with the Humane Society and with special needs children. She planned to be a pediatric physical therapist.
sitting somberly at her side, told the jurors about who was 17 when he died. A star swimmer, he had accepted a scholarship to the University of Indianapolis and was training in hopes of competing for his mother鈥檚 native Sweden in the 2020 Olympics. His younger brother, Alex, was wounded in the shooting.
鈥淗e was always inclusive of everyone. On his last evening with us, he spent time speaking to the younger kids on the swim team, giving them some pointers,鈥� she said.
But now, she said, 鈥渙ur hearts will forever be broken.鈥�
鈥淲e will always live with excruciating pain. We have an empty bedroom in our house. There is an empty chair at our dining table. Alex will never have a brother to talk or hang out with. They will never again go for a drive, blasting very loud music. We did not get to see Nick graduate from high school or college. We will never see him getting married.
鈥淲e will always hesitate before answering the question, 鈥楬ow many kids do you have?鈥欌��
