FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Testimony is wrapping up in the attempted murder trial of Florida teenager Wayne Treacy, who’s claiming insanity in a 2010 kicking and stomping attack on a 15-year-old girl.
Prosecutors are expected Friday to call a mental health expert to rebut the insanity defense.
Defense experts testified that Treacy’s assault on Josie Lou Ratley because of post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by his brother’s suicide.
The defense must show jurors Treacy couldn’t tell right from wrong.
The violence at a middle school bus loop came after Ratley made reference to the brother’s death in a series of vulgar and insulting text messages between the two.
Ratley nearly died and has permanent brain injuries.
Treacy faces a maximum 50-year prison sentence if convicted of attempted first-degree murder.
