Published: Thu, August 12, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
jgoodwin@vindy.com
The fate of a 42-year-old Austintown man accused of strangling a 22-year-old woman to death in her Austintown home more than eight years ago now rest in the hands of a jury.
Christopher Anderson, of South Main Street Austintown, has been on trial before a six-man, six-woman jury since Aug. 2 for the 2002 murder of Amber Zurcher.
Judge James C. Evans of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court is presiding over the trial. The jury got the case late Wednesday and will deliberate today.
Zurcher’s body was found by her mother on the floor of her Austintown apartment the day after gathering with friends for a party at the same location.
Defense Attorney John B. Juhasz, representing Anderson, and Prosecutors Dawn Cantalamessa and Rebecca L. Doherty all agree that Zurcher met with an untimely, horrible death, but that is all the two sides can agree on in the case.
Doherty, in closing statements Wednesday, told jurors that Anderson had without a doubt purposely caused the death of Zurcher by strangling the woman in her home.
“She wasn’t pushed down. She was forcibly strangled,” Doherty said. “A ligature was wrapped around her throat. ... This was a purposeful death.”
Doherty said Zurcher’s personality is pivotal in the case because she confided in close friends and family about relationships and other personal issues. Anderson has said an intimate relationship existed between he and Zurcher, but prosecutors said no witnesses in Zurcher’s personal circle knew anything about the alleged relationship.
Doherty reminded jurors about DNA belonging to Anderson found under Zurcher’s nails and in a bite mark found on the deceased woman’s breast. She said the DNA evidence and scratches on Anderson’s arms came from a struggle with Zurcher during the murder.
Prosecutors said Anderson returned to Zurcher’s home shortly after a party and killed her.
Juhasz, in his summation, said Anderson had nothing to do with the woman’s death and said the prosecution offered no evidence to show his client’s involvement in the murder.
“This girl met a horrible, tragic death, but we reject the idea that Chris brought her to that death,” he said. “This is trying to drive a square peg in a round hole and it has been since 2002.”
Juhasz said it is not likely that Anderson was left with large scratches on his arms because there was no significant skin or blood under Zurcher’s nails. He said there was only trace amounts of DNA under Zurcher’s nails not visible to the naked eye.
Juhasz contends the DNA evidence came from a sexual encounter Anderson claims he had with Zurcher in a bathroom shortly before her death.
Juhasz reminded jurors that police did not find any weapons or ligatures used in the murder in Anderson’s home during a search in 2002.
Anderson’s first trial in May 2003 was declared a mistrial after a comment from a witness on the stand calling Anderson a “freak” and a mention of an alleged attack on another woman.
Anderson was convicted in November 2003 and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, but the 7th District Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in September 2006 on the grounds of “cumulative error” in the original trial.
A third trial in December 2008 ended with a hung jury.
A fourth attempt in April this year ended in a mistrial after a defense lawyer fell asleep in the courtroom during jury selection.
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