PITTSBURGH (AP) — A trial has started for a Pittsburgh-area man charged with fatally stabbing a 16-year-old high school cheerleader who was his former girlfriend.
Defense attorney Robert Stewart says 20-year-old John Mullarkey Jr. may have been affected by an acne drug that has been linked to suicides and depression.
Mullarkey is charged with criminal homicide. He's accused of stabbing Demi Cuccia (KOO'-shuh) 16 times in August 2007.
Cuccia was a cheerleader at Gateway High School in Monroeville, a suburb about 15 miles east of Pittsburgh. Mullarkey had graduated from there.
Police say Mullarkey fatally stabbed the girl before trying to cut his own throat.
A jury was seated Tuesday for the trial, which is expected to last just a couple of days.
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