PITTSBURGH -- A neighbor testified Friday that she heard "terrible screams" just moments before a Monroeville girl staggered out of her home and collapsed with fatal stab wounds.

The suspect, John Mullarkey, 18, is accused of killing Demi Cuccia, 16. He remained jailed without bond on a homicide charge after his preliminary hearing on Friday, and a judge ruled that the case can go to trial.

After the hearing, Mullarkey's lawyer said the suspect had been taking a prescription acne medication before the stabbing and said that may be brought up at trial.

Police said Mullarkey slashed his own throat after stabbing his girlfriend Cuccia, a Gateway High School cheerleader, during an Aug. 15 argument at Cuccia's home on Elliott Road.

Witnesses at the hearing included Gail Slomer, who was visiting her daughter next door to Cuccia, and an Allegheny County homicide detective who later interviewed Mullarkey in his hospital bed.

Slomer testified that "we heard terrible screams" at the Cuccia home, and then she saw Cuccia stumble outside and fall to the ground, covered in blood.

"I hate you," Cuccia yelled at Mullarkey, according to Slomer.

Detective Michael Kuma testified that Mullarkey gave a written statement in the hospital that began, "If I did something."

Mullarkey then scratched those words out and wrote, "If someone did something, and they were on medication, would they be found guilty?" according to Kuma.

"The evidence is going to come out that he was on a drug called Accutane," defense attorney Robert Stewart said. "How that plays in the defense, I can't comment at this point."

Stewart claimed that the drug, which Mullarkey took to treat severe acne, has been under investigation for years.

"If you look at the drug Accutane, you will see that it has serious repercussions as far as mental health," Stewart said. "The side effects are unbelievable."

Though Cuccia's friends have said that Mullarkey threatened the girl in the days leading up to the stabbing, Stewart said Mullarkey had no intention of hurting Cuccia when he went to her house.

Mullarkey, who appeared in court with a bandage on his neck, has pleaded not guilty and is being held in 23-hour lockdown on a medical floor in the county jail.

A formal arraignment is set for Oct. 24. No trial date has been set.

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Accutane

There is no other drug capable of curing cystic acne like Accutane, but warning labels explain it's not an innocent medication, and it can cause side effects.

"All of the side effects are also the same side effects listed under vitamin A toxicity," said Children's Hospital dermatologist Dr. Robin Gehris. "If you were to take natural, high doses of vitamin A, you can get the same side effects on the liver, extra pressure on the brain."

So, patients taking the drug are closely monitored with monthly blood work.

Accutane is a retinoid, which is a vitamin A derivative taken in very high doses. It dries the sebaceous or sweat glands and stops the clogging of hair follicles.

But Accutane has a long history of problems. Pregnant women have been warned to give it wide berth, because it's linked to premature birth, miscarriage and infant mortality.

In fact the Food and Drug Administration last year warned women and girls not to buy the drug online.

But is there more to worry about?

Some say the drug can cause users to have violent, suicidal, even homicidal thoughts.

The drug's maker admits it can cause rare potential side effects, which include:

Depression, psychosis and suicide

Hearing and vision problems

Blindness from increased pressure on the brain

Damage to the liver, pancreas, intestines or esophagus

Several studies show no link between Accutane and violence or suicide, though.

Gehris said her patients have never had those problems, even those being treated for depression.

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