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Jury selection is underway for the trial of Parkland School shooter Nikolas Cruz and one woman who was dismissed from serving went viral after stating why she couldn't participate.
Identified only as Ms. Bristol, a potential juror told a Florida court she couldn't participate in the six-month trial due to the loss of $8,000 in monthly income from her "sugar daddy." The woman said she's married and has a "sugar daddy" he gives her the thousands every month.
"Well I am married and have my sugar daddy," Ms. Bristol told Judge Elizabeth Scherer last week. "I see him every day." Judge Scherer seemed confused by the woman's confession, but later moved to dismiss her.
After going viral online, Ms. Bristol spoke to a local TV station to explain things further.
"It's all day for six months and what's my hardship? I need my sugar daddy money," Ms. Bristol told WPLG over the weekend.
"If I do this case for six months, I have a hardship that means my sugar daddy can't support me," she continued, though the arguments in the case are slated to begin in June and last through September.
Ms. Bristol claimed she would be at risk of losing her house without the income her "sugar daddy" provides.
Jury selection in the tragic case became even more complicated this week after Judge Scherer moved to dismiss an entire pool of potential jurors after 8 of them burst into tears when confessed high school gunman Nikolas Cruz walked into the court room on Monday (April 11).
"The ladies and gentleman that have been taken out so far are people that are so upset that they can't sit here without getting emotional, and we don't want that to cause trauma for anyone," Judge Scherer said this week after potential jurors were escorted out.
The court is looking to seat 12 jurors and 8 alternates in the case. So far, 147 potential jurors have been screened and advanced to a second round of questioning.
Once selected, the jury will decide on a life sentence or death penalty for Cruz who confessed to 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder after carrying out the deadly mass shooting at Marjorie Douglas Stoneman High School in 2018.
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