SUNRISE, Fla. – Prosecutors have released video of the police interrogation of Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz, in which he claims a demonic voice in his head urged him to do violence.
The video released Wednesday comes after authorities previously made public a transcript of the interview conducted hours after the Feb. 14 shooting that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Both were edited to remove Cruz's direct confession to the crime.
The hours of video show Cruz and Broward Sheriff's Detective John Curcio in a police interrogation room, with the camera angle from above. Cruz, dressed in hospital clothing and not handcuffed, initially speaks so softly Curcio repeatedly urges him to talk louder.
Much of their conversation focused on what the 19-year-old Cruz insisted was a voice that told him things like "burn, kill, destroy." Cruz also mutters "kill me" when Curcio is out of the room.
Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted.