Jury Hears Closing Arguments In Witt Murder Trial
PLACERVILLE, Calif. (AP) -- The lawyer for a Northern California man accused of fatally stabbing his underage girlfriend's mother says the girlfriend committed the murder to prevent her mother from standing in the way of the relationship.
Jurors heard closing statements Tuesday in the case against 21-year-old Steven Paul Colver. He faces a possible first- or second-degree murder conviction in the 2009 killing of Joanne Witt at her El Dorado Hills home, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Defense attorney Dain Weiner told jurors the single mother was killed by her daughter Tylar, then 14, who he described as mentally unstable.
But prosecutor Lisette Suder said male DNA found on the body points to Colver. Suder said the then-19-year-old stabbed Witt 20 times because he was terrified of going to jail after she reported him for statutory rape.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
