GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. -- The trial of the man accused of raping and slaying a veterinary technician in Orange Park will go to the jury Monday.
Michael Renard Jackson is charged with murder in the brutal death of 25-year-old Andrea Boyer. Testifying in his own defense today, Jackson said he and Boyer knew each other previously and were physically acquainted.
The defense claims someone else broke into the Wells Road Veterinary Clinic where Andrea worked and killed her.
State Attorney Angela Corey and Jackson's public defense attorney gave closing arguments Friday evening. The state is seeking the death penalty.
Boyer was found murdered Jan. 23, 2007 inside a kennel at the clinic.
A co-worker, Joy Ortiz, testified Monday that she knew something was wrong when she got to work around 7 a.m. that Tuesday. She told the jury the kennel lights were not on and usually were at that time.
Prosecutors told the jury Boyer was bashed in the head with a fire extinguisher and sexually assaulted.
"There was extreme blunt force trauma to the head and obviously tremendous amount of blood loss," David Krika, a former Clay County deputy who was the first law enforcement officer on the scene, testified.
Jackson's attorney, Sean Espenship, argued that investigators did not collect evidence from the entire crime scene, and stopped after Jackson's arrest. Jackson is a convicted sex offender who previously spent more than a decade in prison.
The assistant state attorney argued that Jackson's DNA was the only DNA found on Boyer's body, linking him to the crime.
"DNA is so powerful, you can't argue with it. It can't emphasize anything other than pure, raw, completely objective data," the prosecutor said.
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