Nikolas Cruz’s lawyer is investigated by Florida bar after she sneakily flipped the bird in court and LAUGHED with mass murderer in front of victims’ families: Furious father likens her to an ‘immature punk child’
- Tamara Curtis, who is on mass shooter Nikolas Cruz’s defense counsel, was recorded joking with the killer and flipping court cameras the bird
- Curtis is now under investigation by the Florida bar, a spokesperson confirms
- Cruz killed 17 people and injured 17 more when he engaged in a shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018
- Furious parents and family members said Curtis’ behavior was ‘disgusting’ and slammed her for being chummy with the man who killed high schoolers
- The defense team even complained they were being unfairly attacked by the families, which prompted Judge Elizabeth Scherer to defend the families
- The jury said it could not unanimously agree that Cruz, 24, should be executed so he has been given life in prison
The Florida bar is investigating a member of mass shooter Nikolas Cruz’s defense team after she was recorded sneakily flipping the bird on camera and chummily laughing with the convicted mass killer.
Tamara Curtis, who is on Cruz’s defense counsel, is being investigated due to an inquiry based on her behavior in court, a Florida bar spokesperson revealed a day after Cruz was sentenced to life in prison and avoided the death penalty.
Cruz, 24, killed 17 people and injured 17 more when he engaged in a shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018.
Her behavior prompted one parent of a victim to accuse Cruz’s defense team of ‘losing their humanity towards the victims’ last month.
Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old victim Jaime Guttenberg, said he will ‘never, ever forgive that moment’ Curtis laughed with Cruz, and likened her behavior to ‘an immature, punk child.’
In the clip, Curtis first spots the camera and points it out to Cruz, who also looks over curiously
Then, Curtis starts the first of her antics, sarcastically waving at the camera while turning the other way
Then, out of nowhere, Curtis decides to flip the bird at the camera and rub it against her cheek – the colleague beside her seems embarrassed, but Cruz finds it amusing
The two then laugh together about her actions, which one parent of a victim called ‘disgusting and unprofessional’
Lawyer Tamara Curtis is being investigated by the Florida bar after a video surfaced of her laughing with convicted mass shooter Nikolas Cruz, which angered families of the victims
In the recording, Curtis can first be seen spotting a new camera set up and pointing it out to a colleague beside her.
Curtis, her colleague and Cruz appear to discuss the camera before Curtis waves without looking at it.
She then decides to press her middle finger up against her face, seemingly as a joke, and she laughs with Cruz as she does it. Meanwhile, her colleague attempts to move on awkwardly.
News of the inquiry comes after a heartbreaking two-day hearing in which parents of the victims slammed the behavior the behavior of Cruz’s defense.
Annika Dworet, who attended nearly every day of the trial after their son Nicholas Dworet was killed in the shooting, lambasted the defense for ‘holding, touching, and giggling with this cold-blooded murderer.’
Dworet also called the actions ‘disgusting and unprofessional.’
Michael Schulman, the father of slain Parkland teacher Scott Beigel, said ‘This man, this animal, this piece of s**t, this b*****d took the lives of 17 people.’
‘You have a right to defend him. You have no right, no right to demean the people who lost somebody. None,’ he added.
Even Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer referenced the defense team’s behavior after they accused the victims’ families of personally attacking them.
‘I did my job, and every member of this team did our job, and we should not be personally attacked for that,’ said Cruz’s chief public defender, Melisa McNeill.
The verdict was reached on Thursday after the jury said it could not unanimously agree that Cruz, pictured with Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill, should be executed
PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS: Top Row L-R: Jaime Guttenberg, Nicholas Dworet, Martin Duque, Meadow Pollack, Cara Loughran — Second Row L-R: Alyssa Alhadeff, Luke Hoyer, Joaquin Oliver, Gina Montalto — Third Row L-R: Alaina Petty, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang, Alex Schachter — Fourth Row L-R: Helena Ramsey, Scott Beigel, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon
The comments irked Judge Scherer so much that she eventually exploded at the defense.
‘When these people are upset about specific things that have gone on from that table, like shooting the middle finger up at this court, and laughing, and joking. When these people have sat in this courtroom and watched this behavior from that table and they want to say that they’re not happy about it, what is the problem?’ she asked.
The verdict was reached on Thursday after the jury said it could not unanimously agree that Cruz, 24, should be executed. Reuters initially reported that the jury recommended the death penalty, but issued a correction shortly after.
Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. The only other option is life in prison.
Cruz sat hunched over and stared down at the table while the verdict was being read. But as it was revealed that the confessed killer would be getting life in prison – not the death penalty – a rare smile spread across his face.
Families and friends of the victims were visibly emotional as they reacted to the verdict. Many shook their heads, looked angry or covered their eyes. Some parents sobbed as they left court.
Cruz said he chose Valentine’s Day to make it impossible for Stoneman Douglas students to celebrate the holiday ever again.
The massacre is the deadliest mass shooting that has ever gone to trial in the U.S. Nine other people in the U.S. who fatally shot at least 17 people died during or immediately after their attacks by suicide or police gunfire.
The prosecution during the three-month sentencing trial had argued Cruz’s crime was both premeditated as well as heinous and cruel, which are among the criteria that Florida law establishes for deciding on a death sentence.
Cruz’s defense team had acknowledged the severity of his crimes, but asked jurors to consider mitigating factors including lifelong mental health disorders resulting from his biological mother’s substance abuse during pregnancy.
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