Parkland school shooting verdict: Count 7 in penalty phase is Nicholas Dworet

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer announced on Oct. 13 that a divided jury recommended life in prison without the possibility of parole as punishment for the Parkland school shooter on count seven of first-degree murder.

Count seven of 17 in the penalty phase is for the murder of Nicholas Dworet who Nikolas Cruz killed on Feb. 14, 2018, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to Scherer.

His mother, Annika Dworet, said during her victim impact statement that Nicholas had a full swimming scholarship to the University of Indianapolis and wanted to compete in the Olympics.

Dworet, 17, a senior, was in Holocaust history teacher Ivy Schamis’s classroom 1214. Cruz fatally shot him three times and also killed his classmate Helena Ramsay, prosecutors said.

Dr. Stephen L. Robinson, who performed the autopsy, said he suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the right shoulder, hip, and chest. He also suffered grazed wounds on his abdomen and left thigh.

Interactive graphic: Understanding the choices jurors made on the verdict form

Watch videos of some of the court testimony in his case:

Grieving mother Annika Dworet reads victim impact statement

Dworet’s surviving brother, Alexander, was injured at MSD

Dr. Stephen L. Robinson performed the autopsy

Interactive graphic on the penalty phase


About the Author:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.