Mother wants child's ICU visit investigated alongside tonsil surgery deaths at Hamilton hospital
An Ontario mother is sharing her story after she says her daughter almost died following a tonsillectomy at McMaster Children’s Hospital.
Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz struggled academically and behaviourally in middle school, laughing uncontrollably and blurting out inappropriate comments in class, destroying a bathroom sink and getting low grades, a former counsellor testified Tuesday at his penalty trial for massacring 17 people.
Jessica Clark Flournoy, who worked with special education students, testified that when she initially met with Cruz in sixth grade at Westglades Middle School in 2011, he tried hard to get good grades, behave and make friends but he struggled. Cruz, who was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, had trouble focusing and staying organized, she said.
Flournoy said Cruz was extremely anxious -- something elementary teachers also said in earlier testimony -- and feared other students would discover he was doing poorly. She said when teachers returned homework and tests, he would quickly stuff the papers into his backpack without looking so no one else would see. He was embarrassed to raise his hand to get help, so Flournoy and his teachers devised a system where he would place a blue note card on his desk when he needed assistance.
"He did not have a lot of self-confidence in his abilities to do well," said Flournoy, who worked with him for 30 to 45 minutes per week. She said that weighed on him. "He was sad about that."
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to murdering 14 students and three staff members at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14, 2018. The seven-man, five-woman jury will decide whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole. They must be unanimous to impose a death sentence.
His public defenders are in their second week of presenting testimony about Cruz's troubled life as they try to show that from his birth to a crack-addicted, hard drinking prostitute who put him up for adoption through his childhood he had emotional and psychological problems that were never adequately addressed.
They are trying to overcome the emotional, gruesome and graphic evidence and testimony the prosecution presented over three weeks as it laid out the killings and his planning.
Flournoy, who did not want to testify but was subpoenaed by Cruz's attorneys, said that by eighth grade Cruz had such behavioral problems, such as breaking the bathroom sink, that he was being escorted to his classes and at lunch. She believed he was trying to get kicked out of Westglades and sent to a school for students with discipline problems.
She said it eventually became evident to her that Westglades was not the appropriate school for Cruz because administrators and teachers had applied all their resources to help him, but nothing really worked.
------
Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro in Miami contributed to this report.
An Ontario mother is sharing her story after she says her daughter almost died following a tonsillectomy at McMaster Children’s Hospital.
The former owners of a home on Vancouver's west side have continued living in it despite selling it for nearly $4 million last June. Last week, they won a court case that will prevent the new owners from evicting them for at least a little while longer.
The Liberal government says changes to the capital gains tax will only affect less than one per cent of Canadians and generate nearly $20 billion in new revenue. We asked an economist how accurate that is.
Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas failed in her challenge against rules that stop her from competing in elite women's races because judges ruled she did not have standing to bring the case.
Consumers may have many reasons to feel tip fatigue. But who loses out when we decide to tip less, or not at all? CTVNews.ca spoke with a few industry experts to find out how tipping works and who actually receives the money.
More former students of a private Christian school in Saskatoon testified about corporal punishment they received at the hands of the school’s director on Tuesday.
Emergency officials in Ottawa and British Columbia are warning intense drought could mean an increased likelihood of large, challenging fires this summer.
A group of Mississauga homeowners hired a construction company with a reputable name, only to find out that it wasn’t the company they thought – setting into motion a series of bizarre events that ended with the arrest of a homeowner.
An Oregon man who drugged his daughter and her friends with fruit smoothies laced with a sleeping medication after they didn't go to bed during a sleepover was sentenced to two years in prison.
Peggy's Cove, N.S., is one of the most famous locations in the Maritimes. Recent visitors were treated to more than just the iconic landmark.
Hundreds of fans lined up to meet the Trailer Park Boys in Dartmouth, N.S., Tuesday, as Ricky, Bubbles and Julian promoted their new brand of potato chips.
Car break-ins plague Canadians across the country, but instead of worrying about theft, a northern Ontario woman is cleaning up a big mess that she says will not be covered by insurance after a black bear broke into her Honda Civic and took a nap.
Members of a Hutterite colony in southern Alberta have potentially built the world's tallest structure made of Popsicle sticks.
A dog who spent the first three-and-a-half years of his life suffering and almost a year at a shelter has found his forever home, according to the BC SPCA.
In most families, ringing in a 100th birthday is a massive milestone. Minni Pelman’s family certainly thinks so – as they celebrate her 108th birthday in the park outside her building.
Showing off the latest purchase in his Eaton's collection, Corey Quintaine joked he is rebuilding the former flagship store that used to sit at 320 Portage Avenue one Facebook Marketplace purchase at a time.
After learning about food security at school, 11-year-old Violette Ferguson wants fresh eggs and to change the rules around chickens in the city.
An Ontario powerlifter caught a mild cold last year. Six days later, he was fighting for his life in the ICU.