Massacre defendant’s attorneys want judge to remove them

May 1, 2019 | 5:48 AM

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The public defenders representing the former student charged with the Florida high school massacre are set to ask a judge to remove them from the case.

The Broward County Public Defender’s Office will ask Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Wednesday to order Nikolas Cruz to hire a private attorney with the $432,000 he may receive from his late mother’s life insurance policy. The office made the surprise announcement last week.

Prosecutors oppose such a move, saying any money likely will go through lawsuits to Cruz’s surviving victims and the families of those killed.