End Of Trial Nears For Man Charged With Killing Girlfriend

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) -- Closing arguments are scheduled in the murder trial of a 33-year-old man on trial for the strangling of his Cornell University-student girlfriend last Thanksgiving.

Benjamin Cayea was charged with second-degree murder after 23-year-old Shannon Jones of Potomac, Maryland, was killed insider her apartment on Nov. 27 in Cayuga Heights, just outside Ithaca.

Prosecutors say after his arrest Cayea told a Tompkins County sheriff's investigator that he killed Jones after an argument earlier in the day.

During his testimony Tuesday in county court, Cayea said Jones had asked him to choke while they were having sex after they had argued in her apartment.

The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning with closing arguments. The jury is expected to begin deliberations after receiving instructions from the judge.

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