Youre able to confront your person in court, and thats what this is about, she said. Fourteen-year-old Evelyn Schentrup who shares her older sister's soulful eyes and glossy dark hair says that even though she objected to the move and hated leaving her Parkland friends behind, she could tell that her parents needed a fresh start. I just can't be here.' Another bullet entered through her ribs and did what high-velocity bullets are designed to do. They have to prove that there are 17 murders and 17 attempted murders, Ms. Levine said. Alyssa Alhadeff (Room 1216): Shot in the heart, hand, femoral artery, and in the spine five times. Get all Latest News about cara dune, Breaking headlines and Top stories, photos & video in real time There, a photo of her in the graduation cap and gown she would never get to wear. The painting, acrylic on canvas, is by Parkland artist Nava Lundy, who created portraits of all 17 Parkland victims and gave them to the families. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Being told, when the medical examiner gives the body back to the funeral home, 'You can't see her. Since the video is blurry and doesnt focus on the body I could see how someone could mistake it for being someone else who died in the hallways (such as Joquain). The judge has allowed the evidence over the objections of defense lawyers, who say that it is repetitive, gruesome and intended to prejudice the jury against their client. "It's something we feel we have to do not only for Carmen, but for Robert and Evelyn. 2/21/2001 - 2/14/2018. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to do that.. "Parkland happened because of a series of cascading, systemic failures, which . Her friend describes her body as leaning against the wall/sliding down the wall after being hit. Many of the Parkland victims families have endorsed the prosecutors pursuit of the death penalty, even knowing that the trial would be excruciating. She was also a National Merit Scholarship finalist, but Carmen never knew, because her family found out the day after she was killed. But missing her doesn't feel like enough any more. "It's very high energy," Boiko said of the. The blue urn holding Carmen's ashes rests with photos and drawings in a glass cabinet in the family's living room. Ms. Schentrup said she has read occasional news articles or heard from families in attendance. Later finished off with multiple shots to the chest and abdomen. For a few weeks after their daughter Carmen was murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018, a week shy of her 17th birthday, April and Phil Schentrup could barely. But hes not confident his own position will prevail in jurors minds, telling CNN he believes the sentence will be death. They talk about their views with family members who are gun owners and NRA members, and admit that those conversations can be painful. He unzipped his jacket during his testimony to show jurors scars from the bullet wounds and from 14 subsequent operations. Many have indicated they support the death penalty, a stance underscored by the raw and painful testimony parents and other family members gave during the trial, detailing how the killers actions had robbed them not only of their children and loved ones but also their futures and all the memories that would have been made. But as painful as the loss of his sister is, Schentrup does not believe sentencing the killer to death is the solution. "I think it was just hard for them being around so many reminders of her," she says. One year after their older daughter, Carmen, was killed in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., the Schentrup family works to find a new normal. "I just felt this urgency," Lundy says. On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people [note 2] and injuring 17 others. But Robert Schentrup whose 16-year-old sister Carmen was among the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018 isnt one of them. 6:39 PM EDT, Mon October 10, 2022. "All I kept saying was, 'I just want to know where my daughter is,'" she says. Robert, 18, a college freshman, highlights his sister's competitive streak. Jurors saw surveillance video of him buying a cherry-and-blue raspberry Icee at the Subway inside a nearby Walmart, sitting down in a booth in a McDonalds occupied by MSD student John Wilford, who didnt know Cruz. "And some days, you know, it's true. In fact, what it will do is to continue the trauma and not allow the victims to heal and get closure, Schulman wrote. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. So typically, if you're not shot in the head, spine, or chest, you'll be ok? Victim of school shooting in Parkland, Florida She has been cremated and ashes will be given to her family here is the obituary Carmen Schentrup passed away on February 14 . 34 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. Jurors heard the difficult testimony and viewed graphic autopsy photos to conclude the first week of trial as prosecutors sought to illustrate the cruelty of Cruzs targeted rampage through Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14, 2018. 'I just want to know where my daughter is'. "Just laying there still and there. David Ovalle covers crime and courts in Miami. I then placed myself underneath his lifeless body. It was just failure after failure after failure. Melisa Block/NPR Was apparently conscious and able to acknowledge the officers but wasn't able to respond to their questions due to his injuries (was described as very out of it/delirious). And the fact that its super awkward and people dont know how to talk about it I also still dont know how to talk about it just makes it that much more difficult and makes the conversation that much harder.. It would be 12 excruciating hours before an FBI agent finally confirmed to the Schentrups that their daughter was among the 17 dead. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Satz again asked about the significance of the high-powered bullets. According to Why Meadow Died, Feis had gunshot residue/burn marks on his hands indicating that he may have tried to make a grab for Cruz's rifle barrel since he was fairly close to Cruz. On March 24, the Schentrups will travel to Washington, D.C. for March for Our Lives, a protest calling for stricter gun regulation. Our beautiful daughter Carmen was born on February 21, 2001. Mr. Schentrup said he would find the trial traumatizing. Since 1977 when executions were reintroduced, nearly 300 Black defendants have been executed for the murder of a White victim, while just 21 White defendants have been executed for the murder of a Black victim, according to a 2020 report by the Death Penalty Information Center. Where are Nikolas Cruz's parents, Linda and Roger Cruz? ", "It's unimaginable, but I think we need to imagine it," April says. The dark day was February 14, 2018, and even after 4 years of what happened people still cannot forget the horrific day. Carmen SCHENTRUP. "It was hard in the beginning, and it's still hard," she says, her voice trembling, "because we miss [Carmen]. Bathroom doors were locked due to students vaping? Carmen Schentrup via Broward County Schools Last September, Carmen was named one of 53 National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists in the county. Its hard for me to be of an opinion that my parents dont agree with and actively dislike, Robert Schentrup said. Schentrup, who was an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Central Florida when his sister was killed, remembers her as a brainy and ambitious teenager, someone whose focus was doing well in. Jurors are expected to begin deliberating in the gunmans trial this week, almost a year after he pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, to decide whether to recommend he be sentenced to death. hide caption. The program for a concert in memory of Robert Schentrup's sister Carmen Schentrup. At the time she died, Carmen had been accepted into the University of Florida's honors program, with dreams of becoming a medical researcher. Alyse Young for NPR She was involved in her church youth group and different . Carmen was a c-section baby and wanted to come out breach, but luckily, Carmen entered this world a healthy baby. While son Robert remained in Florida to attend college, the rest of the family moved to Washington state. Some of the testimony has been chilling without being graphic: That two victims who were in the hallway tried to get to safety by knocking on their locked classroom door, but were killed before they could get in. Carmens murderer deserves the death penalty.. This weapon will fire as quickly as you can pull the trigger, Broward prosecutor Mike Satz told jurors during his opening statement. A Jury Has Spared The Parkland Shooter From The Death Penalty. She especially adored the Harry Potter series, identifying with the brainy character Hermione. I wasnt in the safe spot. Another girl, shot four times, was missing much of her arm. It felt like all those 11 bullets were hitting my own body, she said. "They needed to be away from all the problems and the stress behind everything. "But in the end, if we allow him to have the gun that can fire indiscriminately large amounts of bullets, that's on us. Alyse Young for NPR And so, we're gonna keep advocating for the reasonable middle ground that most Americans can agree on to go get things done. It makes sense that most of the wounded were shot in the arms or legs. Her parents, Philip and April, speak with soft wonder. As far as leg wounds, they're not usually fatal but if the femoral artery is hit, it can be fatal very quickly. Victims relatives have filled several rows in the courtroom over the past two weeks, listening closely as the lead prosecutor, Michael J. Satz, called dozens of witnesses. Even so, Ms. Risher said she does not regret attending the trial, which she described as some of the hardest days of her life. The 14-year-old, who performed Irish dance, was set to appear in a St. Patrick's Day festival the month after her death. Several months ago, April Schentrup kept that urn close by, nestled at her feet, as she flew across the country to the family's new home. We shouldnt even have to endure this trial. Peter Wang (3rd floor hallway, west end): Was killed by a shot to the head/brain while holding a door open to the stairwell on the third floor in order to let students fleeing escape down the stairs. For example, there was the implicit pressure to be "Parkland Strong. A native of San Diego, he graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter. The Schentrups' children are involved, too. As they grew older and their interests diverged, television remained something they bonded over; Schentrup recalled binge-watching the entirety of Criminal Minds with Carmen and their younger sister. Carmen Marie Schentrup. Healing, for me, is not something that will happen based upon a verdict at the end of the trial, he said. Alania Petty (Room 1216): Shot somewhere in the upper torso or possibly the neck. from People: It's only two weeks since Monisha was not with us anymore. ALOT. Also shot (possibly execution style) by a close range/near-contact gunshot wound of the chest. We wanted to speak up.". The conversation is etched in April's mind: "She said, 'I'm speaking for my sister, 'cause she can't speak. At one hospital, April was told by law enforcement officials, "We want to be honest with you, this was a mass shooting and there were multiple fatalities. But Schentrup hopes that by sharing his personal stance others will examine the issue for themselves. What happened to his brother Zachary Cruz? FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. To shield heartsick families from the most macabre details of how their loved ones were murdered in a mass school shooting in Parkland, Fla., the court handling the gunmans sentencing trial has taken an extraordinary step: Graphic videos and photographs are shown only to the jury, so that victims relatives and others in the courtroom gallery do not have to endure them. The family moved mostly for Philip's job; he works for a tech company based in the Pacific Northwest. So I'm thinking that the moaning and heavy breathing in the 1213 video is actually Maddie since a bullet to the right temple would be near instant? Now, her parents, Philip and April, wear teal bracelets printed with her name and the dates that mark her short life: 2/21/2001-2/14/2018. They'll be adding their voices to a chorus of demands that political leaders act to reform gun laws. At one point, a female juror also wiped away tears. And hopefully that doing something creates a change for the positive. 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