12/13/12 - Closing arguments are expected this afternoon in the murder trial of a Highland Township man charged with killing his mother last year. Prosecutors rested their case Wednesday afternoon in the first-degree murder trial against 22-year-old Jeffrey Pyne, followed quickly by Pyneâs defense, which called no witnesses. Pyneâs attorney, James Champion, then requested the judge acquit Pyne because of a lack of evidence, a motion that was denied. 51-year-old Ruth Pyne was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death in the garage of the familyâs Highland Township home in May 2011. The Free Press reports that Champion plans to argue before closing arguments this afternoon that jurors should only be allowed to consider a first-degree murder charge and not second-degree murder or manslaughter. He previously told the paper he didnât want to give jurors the opportunity to consider lesser charges to prevent them from arriving at a compromise verdict. Pyne, a former University of Michigan biology student with no history of violence, has been in the Oakland County Jail since his arrest in October of 2011. Prosecutors contended that Jeffrey Pyne killed his mother in a fit of rage after years of dealing with her mental illness, which included acts of violence. Court records show that nine months before her death, she physically attacked her son, attempting to strangle him. She was jailed and committed to a mental hospital but was eventually released. Champion has argued that there is no physical evidence linking his client to the murder and that a stranger may have committed the crime. If convicted, Pyne faces life in prison with no parole. (JK)
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