"This is not normal!": Parkland shooting victim's father Dr. Ilan Alhadeff lashes out at Nikolas Cruz sentencing trial

Parkland shooting victim's father Dr. Ilan Alhadeff (Image via Twitter/BrowardCounty/Makeourschoolsafe)
Parkland shooting victim's father Dr. Ilan Alhadeff (Image via Twitter/BrowardCounty/Makeourschoolsafe)

At the sentencing hearing for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, the devastated father lost his temper as he delivered a heartbreaking victim impact statement on Tuesday, August 2.

Dr. Ilan Alhadeff gave tearful testimony about his daughter Alyssa Valdez, 14, along with the family members of the other victims. One by one, they took the witness stand to grieve over their kids who passed away at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School nearly 4 years ago.

The grieving father stated that one of Alyssa's younger brothers was too young at the time to understand her death. Now, he frequently “asks to go see his sister at the cemetery from time to time.” He got emotionally angry and said,

“This is not normal!”
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Dr. Ilan poured his heart out at the time of Nikolas Cruz's sentencing trial

Dr. Ilan and his wife Lori said that Alyssa was the captain of her soccer team and always had an infectious smile on her face. They described her as a good counsel for people who are in difficult times, and a person who wanted to become a successful business lawyer.

Reportedly, at the time of Nikolas Cruz's sentencing trial, he broke down in tears, remembering the fact that he will now only be able to see her daughter in the Tiktok videos. He also talked about how he wouldn't be able to dance with his daughter at her wedding or see the kids she would have had.

“My first-born daughter, daddy's girl was taken from me! I 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.”

His voice breaking, Dr. Ilan continued to speak about the loss and grief his family has endured since Alyssa was shot down by Nikolas Cruz.

“She was supposed to get married, and I was going to have my father-daughter dance. She would have had a beautiful family, four kids, live in a gorgeous house -- a beach house on the side. All those plans came to an end with Alyssa's murder.”

Testimonies of other families were also revealed to Broward Jury at Nikolas Cruz's trial

Nikolas Cruz, 23, pled guilty to 17 charges of first-degree murder in connection with the mass shooting on February 14, 2018, in October.

Cruz's potential sentence for each count of murder will be decided by the jury in the Broward County penalty trial in Fort Lauderdale.

Alhadeff was one of many relatives of the victims who spoke in support of their loved ones. According to reports, Nikolas Cruz showed minimal emotion throughout the heartbreaking speech while one of his defense attorneys was witnessed wiping away tears.

Some families had their testimonies read out to them. Martin Duque, 14, was born in Mexico, but according to his mother's letter, he aspired to join the U.S. Navy Seals. Aaron Feis' wife said in a letter that he was a devoted father figure to their daughter and a role model for many young people.

Carmen Schentrup, 16, was a straight-A student who made it to the semifinals of the National Merit Scholarship the day before she passed away, as said by her mother. She aspired to become a physician who specialized in the study of Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The ongoing trial will determine Nikolas Cruz's sentence. While prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, Cruz's defense attorneys are seeking life sentence without the possibility of parole.

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Edited by Somava
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