The building on the school’s campus remains sealed off after the February 2018 shooting to preserve it for the trial. A new building opened in 2020 has taken over the role of the structure, which authorities say will be demolished.
The visit is intended to help jurors analyze the evidence presented in the trial so far, explained Judge Elizabeth Scherer.
The judge instructed jurors on Wednesday to “avoid touching, manipulating or moving anything.” She also told them to explore the scene on their own and at their own pace, moving as a group from floor to floor.
“Nothing will be explained or pointed out to you,” the judge’s instructions said. Jurors were also told to avoid talking to anyone until the viewing was over.
Jurors will not be permitted to carry a smart phone, smart watch, or any type of camera during jury examination. In court, lawyers encouraged the judge to ask jurors to wear closed-toe shoes because they might run into glass on the floor.
The current phase of the trial is set to determine the sentence for gunman Nikolas Cruz: Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, while Cruz’s defense attorneys are asking the jury for life in prison without the possibility of parole. In order to recommend a death sentence, jurors must be unanimous. If they do, the judge could choose to follow the recommendation or sentence Cruz to life in prison instead.
Cruz is not expected to be at the crime scene.
Some impact statements are expected in court after the visit, the judge said.
Wednesday was the third day of victim testimony in the trial of Cruz, who pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the shooting.
Much of the testimony in the Broward County court — especially from the parents of the 14 slain students — focused on all the things the victims and their families will never be able to do, and the irreparable damage to their daily lives.
“Our family is broken. There’s this constant void,” said Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old Alex, who loved chocolate chip cookies, playing the trombone and video games.
“I feel like I can’t be truly happy if I’m smiling,” Schachter said Wednesday. “I know behind that smile is the sharp realization that a part of me will always be sad and unhappy because Alex isn’t here.”
The loss of her daughter Meadow Pollack, 18, “destroyed” Shara Kaplan’s life, she told a jury Tuesday, “and my ability to ever live a productive existence.” To express how her daughter’s death has affected her, she said she would have to rip out her heart and show them how it shattered into a million pieces.
And the Hoyer family will never be the same. “We were a family of five, always trying to fit into a world made for even numbers,” said Tom Hoyer, whose 15-year-old son Luke — the youngest of three — was killed. “Tables with two, four, six seats in a restaurant. Packages of two, four, six event tickets. Such things.”
But the Hoyers are no longer a family of five, and “the world will never feel right again after we’re a family of four,” Hoyer said.
“When Luke died, I was missing something,” he said. “And I will never, ever get over that feeling.”
To decide their sentence, jurors will hear prosecutors and defense attorneys argue aggravating and mitigating circumstances — reasons why Cruz should or shouldn’t be executed.
The victim impact statements added another layer, giving the victims’ families and friends their own day in court, although the judge told the jury the statements were not intended to be weighed as aggravating factors.
CNN’s Sarah Weisfeld and Leila Santiago contributed to this report.
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