Two months before 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz decided to open fire inside his former high school with an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, he retained an attorney to help him deal with his mother's inheritance.
Boca Raton-based attorney Audra Simovitch had been trying to meet with Cruz after the shooting and filed an emergency motion Wednesday complaining about not being able to do so.
Broward County Circuit Court Judge Charles Greene responded to her petition Thursday.
"The Broward County Public Defender's Office shall not interfere with counsel's right to speak with Nikolas Cruz regarding this pending probate case," Greene ordered, adding that the Broward Sheriff's Office should also allow Simovitch access to her client.
When Cruz's adoptive mother, Lynda Cruz, died of pneumonia Nov. 1, he and his biological brother Zachary Cruz moved in with a friend of their mother's.
Cruz allegedly told the family he was living with that he stood to inherit at least $800,000 -- most of the money would come when he turned 22.
If he gets access to the estate, he will have to hire a private attorney to defend him.
Cruz faces 17 counts of premeditated murder after confessing to killing 14 teenagers and three adults.