Suspected Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz may never see a hefty inheritance from his dead parents, court records show.
If the Broward County Public Defender's Office has its way, everything 19-year-old Cruz gets will go to paying off his court battle. The office on Tuesday asked a judge to determine if the alleged mass killer is eligible for taxpayer-funded legal help even if he has the assets to afford a private attorney.
A 17th Judicial Circuit court filing states Cruz "may be a beneficiary" for his mother, Lynda Cruz, 68, who died of pneumonia in November 2017.
The teen told a family caring for him after his mother's death he would have access to an $800,000 trust fund when he turned 22, the family's attorney told the Miami Herald.
The fund reportedly includes assets from Cruz's father, Roger Cruz, who died in 2004, and his mother.
A friend and one-time neighbor of Cruz's mother rushed to take over the estate after the teen was accused of slaughtering 17 people at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Court records show a lawyer for Rocxanna Deschamps filed a motion to administer the estate Thursday, the day after the Valentine's Day massacre.
The Sun-Sentinel reports, citing Deschamps' petition, that Cruz's mother died without a will to divvy up the funds or name an administrator. Deschamps, of Lantana, Fla., is caring for Cruz's younger brother, Zachary.