Expert: School shooter's mother drank heavily in pregnancy
One of the nation's leading researchers on the effects of fetal alcohol abuse says the birth mother of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz drank more in pregnancy than any woman he has documented
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — One of the nation’s leading fetal alcohol researchers testified Tuesday that Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz’s birth mother drank more during her pregnancy than any woman he’s ever seen documented.
Dr. Kenneth Jones said medical and other records show Brenda Woodward well exceeded the standards that grossly endanger a fetus: six drinks per week for two weeks or three drinks in a sitting twice. A friend also testified earlier that Woodard, a Fort Lauderdale prostitute, heavily drank fortified wine and malt liquor during her pregnancy with Cruz before putting him up for adoption. She died last year.
“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.
