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Prosecutors: Defendant Was A Disgruntled Boyfriend

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Jun 25, 2009 1:46 pm US/Eastern

Prosecutors: Defendant Was A Disgruntled Boyfriend

RELATED STORY:  Text Messages Reveal Events Leading Up To Gateway HS Student's Murder

Prosecutors say John Mullarkey was a disgruntled boyfriend who was about to get dumped

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Just a day after detailing text messages that the defendant sent to a Monroeville teenager in the hours before her murder, prosecutors have rested their case against him.

Opening statements began Tuesday afternoon in the murder trial for John Mullarkey, who is accused of fatally stabbing Demi Cuccia, 16, in August of 2007.

The Gateway High School cheerleader was stabbed 16 times.

During this today's testimony, a pathologist showed autopsy photos of Cuccia's stab wounds – one of which was the entire length of the blade. One of the stab wounds, the pathologist testified, hit a major artery in Cuccia's bicep.

Prosecutors say Mullarkey was a disgruntled boyfriend who was about to get dumped.

One of defendant's friends testified that Mullarkey told him, "I have to see her. I don't want to do anything stupid."

The prosecution rested its case around 11:30am.

As the defense presents its case, Mullarkey's attorneys are expected to discuss the role that an acne medication may have played in the murder.

Mullarkey had been taking the drug, Accutane, prior to Cuccia's violent death.

Defense attorney Robert Stewart has claimed that the drug may have influenced his actions. Stewart said Mullarkey was worried about the effects of the drug on him before the murder.

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

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