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Jury: Monroeville Man Guilty Of 1st Degree Murder

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Jun 29, 2009 3:51 pm US/Eastern

Jury: Monroeville Man Guilty Of 1st Degree Murder

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Jurors took just less than two hours to find a Monroeville man guilty of first-degree murder for stabbing his 16-year-old girlfriend to death in 2007.

Despite a last minute effort by the defense to get the judge to grant a mistrial, deliberations in the murder trial for John Mullarkey began shortly before 12:30pm.

Prosecutors say Mullarkey stabbed Demi Cuccia to death in 2007 because he was about to get dumped.

Defense attorneys, however, have suggested that Accutane, the acne drug that Mullarkey had been taking, affected his mental state.

Just before closing arguments were set to begin this morning, defense attorney Robert Stewart asked the judge to either delay the trial or grant a mistrial in light of the news that Roche Labs had pulled the drug off the market on Friday.

While Roche said price competition with generic drugs prompted the company to pull the drug, Bloomberg reported that Roche also faced lawsuits over bowel disease associated with the drug.

Since there was no evidence at this point linking the drug with homicidal behavior, however, Judge Jeffrey Manning denied the defense's motion and closing arguments began.

Without being able to refer to the decision to pull the drug, the defense said Mullarkey -- who was 18 at the time of the murder -- was a boy who could not fully form the intent to kill because of the effects of Accutane.

Prosecutor Mark Tranquilli, however, said the Gateway High School cheerleader's stabbing death had nothing to do with the acne drug and everything to do with Mullarkey's reaction to a breakup.

The defense wanted to at least let the jury know that Accutane had been pulled from store shelves; but the judge would not allow that to happen.

Judge Manning said the defense could raise those issues if they planned to pursue an appeal.

The jury reportedly reached a verdict shortly after 2pm. 

For more information on the Demi Brae Cuccia Memorial Foundation promoting prevention of domestic violence, visit: http: www.demi-cuccia.virtual-memorials.com. 

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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