Testimony in NJ schoolyard killing trial ends with assessment of defendant’s mental state
By APTuesday, May 18, 2010
Testimony concludes in NJ schoolyard killing trial
NEWARK, N.J. — Testimony has concluded in the trial of one of six people charged with murdering three friends in a New Jersey schoolyard.
The final witness, a psychologist called by the state, has questioned a defense psychologist’s assessment of defendant Rodolfo Godinez (goh-DEEN’-ez) as mildly mentally disabled.
Ernesto Perdomo testified Tuesday that the 26-year-old Godinez is functionally illiterate and reads at a second-grade level. But the psychologist says the defendant can distinguish right from wrong.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Wednesday.
Godinez is one of six men and boys charged in the 2007 attacks. Three of the victims were shot execution-style. A fourth survived being shot and slashed.
