The emotional testimony of Dr. Ilan Alhadeff for his 14-year-old daughter Alyssa marked a second day of tears as families, one after another, took the witness stand to give emotional statements about their loved ones who died at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on February 14, 2018. He and his wife, Lori, described Alyssa’s role as captain of her soccer team, the friend others always turned to for advice or a shoulder to cry on, and her plans to become a business attorney. He wept as he recounted how he won’t dance with his daughter at her wedding or see the children she would have. “They took my first born daughter, daddy’s girl!” shouted Alhadeff, a pathologist. “I get to watch my friends, my neighbors, my colleagues spend time enjoying their daughters, enjoying all the normal milestones, enjoying the normal joys and I can only watch videos or go to the cemetery to see my daughter ». He said one of Alyssa’s two younger brothers was too young to understand her death when it happened, but now “asks to go see his sister at the cemetery from time to time.” “This is not normal!” he said angrily. Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty to 17 counts of first-degree murder in October. the trial is only to determine whether he is sentenced to death or life without parole. During the two days of family statements, he showed little emotion, even as several of his lawyers wiped away tears and Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s voice cracked as she gave instructions. He mostly looks straight ahead, occasionally glancing at the table where he sits. As one family testifies, others crouch in the gallery waiting their turn. They exchange tissue packs, shoulder rubs and, when breaks come, hugs. Some jurors wipe away tears, but most sit stoically. Annika Dworet, her husband Mitch sitting somberly by her side, spoke to jurors about their son Nick, who was 17 when he died. A star swimmer, he had accepted a scholarship to the University of Indianapolis and was training in hopes of competing for his mother’s native Sweden in the 2020 Olympics. His younger brother, Alex, was injured in the shooting. “He was always inclusive to everyone. On his last night with us, he spent time talking to the younger kids on the swim team, giving them some pointers,” she said. But now, he said, “our hearts will forever be broken.” “We will always live with excruciating pain. We have an empty bedroom in our house. There is an empty chair at our table. Alex will never have a brother to talk to or hang out with. They will never go for a drive listening to loud music again. We didn’t get to see Nick graduate from high school or college. We will never see him marry. “We will always hesitate before answering the question ‘How many children do you have?’”