PITTSBURGH -- The prosecution rested its case -- which included text messages that were sent to Demi Cuccia and autopsy results of the 16-year-old Monroeville girl's stabbing death -- and John Mullarkey's defense has begun calling witnesses Thursday.
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Watch Marcie Cipriani's ReportDefense attorney Bob Stewart said that Mullarkey -- on trial for homicide at the Allegheny County Courthouse -- was taking the acne medication Accutane when he killed Cuccia in August 2007.
Stewart called Dr. Daniel Wagner, a pharmacologist, to testify about the dangers of the possible side-effects of that prescription drug.
"Accutane seems to be a very effective drug, but just like many drugs, it seems to have a longer list. It has a checkered past on some of the side-effects," Wagner said outside the courtroom.
WTAE Channel 4's Marcie Cipriani reported that Wagner testified to what he says are not only the dangers of Accutane -- including rage and psychosis -- but the danger of stopping the drug cold turkey.
"Cold turkey could actually be more dangerous than staying on a drug for a long time," Wagner said. "There's something like a 25- to 60-hour half life with Accutane, so within two to three days, that means 50 percent of the drug is depleted from the body. That could be a factor."
Cipriani also reported that some of Mullarkey's friends testified Thursday. They said he had talked about stopping his medication and had been crying in the days before Cuccia's death, claiming to want to quit his job and telling his mother he thought Accutane was to blame for his recent depression.
Cuccia and Mullarkey had a tumultuous relationship that ended tragically when a neighbor heard screams and saw the Gateway High School cheerleader emerge from her Elliott Road home covered in blood, Deputy District Attorney Mark Tranquilli said.
Stewart has already told the jury that Mullarkey -- who was then 18 and is now 20 -- was not himself on the day of the stabbing and doesn't remember much of what happened when he went to Cuccia's home looking to get back together with her.
The prosecution's main piece of evidence in Thursday morning's proceedings was Cuccia's autopsy, which showed a stab wound to the left shoulder that severed an artery.
Judge Jeffrey Manning is presiding over the trial. Testimony will continue Friday.
On Wednesday, the jury saw text messages that were sent to Cuccia on the day she was stabbed. Those messages included "Don't let this go I no we had bad times and good and everyone has that we had a lil more bad that just means we have a lot of good to do," and "Wow... You no you love me and can't live without me," and, "Everything is more important than the guy you love...."
Slideshow: Crime Scene Photos, Text Messages, Memorial GatheringCuccia's responses acknowledged that she was frustrated as she texted "I am I'm mean to you" and "NOTHING IS WRONG STOP WORRYING," prosecutors said.
The final texts between the couple were sent just before 6 p.m. Not long after that, Mullarkey went to Cuccia's house with a knife -- which was shown to the jury in a photograph -- and killed her, prosecutors said.
Another text that said "I stabbed myself at Demi's I love you" was sent to Mullarkey's mother, according to prosecutors. The young man's bloody phone was later found on the ground outside Cuccia's house.
Desperate text messages had been sent to Cuccia over a two-day span before she was killed, prosecutors said. Some indicated Mullarkey was crying, and one said, "I just want it to be good or done I can't stay like this."
Friends are leaving condolence messages on
a Facebook.com page called "R.I.P. Demi Cuccia."
"Words can't describe my emotions, but I miss you," one message said. "You are watching down over everyone. You are our angel."
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