FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The sentencing phase for the Parkland school shooter hit another delay Tuesday as one of the attorneys in the case remains absent.
It was revealed that a key member of Nikolas Cruz's defense team was in the hospital, which brought the second phase of questioning to a standstill.
The nature of the illness was not revealed.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Parkland school shooting
So, instead of more detailed questioning, Judge Elizabeth Scherer was only able to ask jurors the same question they had heard before: would a hardship prevent them from sitting through five months of testimony.
The prospective jurors who showed up Tuesday will have to return to the courtroom next month.
There is no word on whether that will delay the case once again.
Cruz pleaded guilty last year to the 17 murders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018.
The jury will decide whether he gets a sentence of death or life in prison.
Testimony is scheduled to start June 27 and possibly last through the end of October.
