Nikolas Cruz told a family caring for him that he would have a $800,000 trust fund when he turned 22.(POOL/GETTY IMAGES)
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.
A family friend petitioned a Broward County court to administer the estate of Cruz's mother after the school shooting. (GERALD HERBERT/AP)
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.
- ny news
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