A Linn County jury convicted a Cedar Rapids man Monday of first-degree murder in the death of his former girlfriend earlier this year.
Luerkens, 33, of Cedar Rapids, is accused of killing former girlfriend Lynnsey Donald, 29, in the parking lot of the Marion Hy-Vee on April 21. According to testimony last week, Luerkens started following Donald and planned to kill her after she broke up with him and wouldn’t reconcile. Donald was stabbed 32 times in the neck, chest and stomach area and her back, according to the autopsy.
A psychologist testified Thursday that Luerkens suffered from major depressive disorder at the time of the crime. but couldn’t say he had diminished mental capacity to have intent.
In Friday’s closing arguments, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said Luerkens premeditated killing Donald and asked the jury to find him guilty of first-degree murder. Dave Grinde, Luerkens’ lawyer, told jurors Luerkens suffered from diminished mental capacity and asked the jury to convict him of second-degree murder.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...ns-in-nicholas-luerkens-murder-trial-20151109
Luerkens, 33, of Cedar Rapids, is accused of killing former girlfriend Lynnsey Donald, 29, in the parking lot of the Marion Hy-Vee on April 21. According to testimony last week, Luerkens started following Donald and planned to kill her after she broke up with him and wouldn’t reconcile. Donald was stabbed 32 times in the neck, chest and stomach area and her back, according to the autopsy.
A psychologist testified Thursday that Luerkens suffered from major depressive disorder at the time of the crime. but couldn’t say he had diminished mental capacity to have intent.
In Friday’s closing arguments, Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said Luerkens premeditated killing Donald and asked the jury to find him guilty of first-degree murder. Dave Grinde, Luerkens’ lawyer, told jurors Luerkens suffered from diminished mental capacity and asked the jury to convict him of second-degree murder.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/n...ns-in-nicholas-luerkens-murder-trial-20151109
