WOBURN, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – Both the prosecution and the defense had their final chance Tuesday to make their case for or against a former Wayland High School football player accused of killing his high school sweetheart.
Prosecutors were hoping to bring home their position that Nathaniel Fujita was not suffering from a brief psychotic episode when he slashed Lauren Astley's throat. They say the July 2011 murder was deliberately premeditated, "fueled by a seething hostility, rage, and resentment he felt for her breaking up with him."
Fujita is accused of luring Astley to his home, strangling her with a bungee cord, and then slashing her throat before dumping her body in a Wayland marsh.
At one point during closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Lisa McGovern got down on her knees and put a bungee cord around her neck to mimic the way Astley was reportedly murdered.
Fujita's lawyers and a defense psychiatrist claim their client could not control his actions due to his depression, marijuana use, family problems, and the repeated head trauma he sustained while playing football.
However, the prosecution also tried to discredit the defense's psychiatrist saying the doctor had only met with Fujita twice.
As the judge gave the jury instructions regarding the various charges against the defendant, Fujita wept and blew his nose.
Jury deliberations will begin Wednesday at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.