CHARLOTTE — Closing arguments will begin Friday in the trial of two men accused of killing a 20-year-old woman in NoDa.
Lavi Pham and James Salerno are charged with murder in the stabbing death of Mary Collins in 2020.
Pham’s team put on evidence, and Pham testified for hours over three days.
Salerno’s team chose not to present any evidence, and he did not take the stand.
In court Thursday, prosecutors made Pham look at the gruesome autopsy photos. Prosecutors say Pham helped stab her to death, but he has repeatedly disagreed, claiming Kelly Lavery was the one who killed her.
Pham’s defense argues he was voluntarily intoxicated. They called a pharmacologist and toxicologist to the stand who told the jury it could have played a role in Pham’s decision to not call 911.
Mary Collins’ family said she was a quirky 20-year-old who loved art and photography. She lived with DiGeorge syndrome, a genetic disorder that limited her cognitive abilities. Her family said she struggled to make friends.
Collins dated Pham two years before she was killed.
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