Closing arguments expected in waterboarding trial
GEORGETOWN, Del. (AP) — Jurors awaited closing arguments Wednesday in the trial of a former pediatrician accused of waterboarding his longtime companion's daughter by holding her head under a faucet.
Attorneys are expected to give closing arguments in the trial of 60-year-old Melvin Morse, whose testimony concluded Wednesday morning.
Morse is being tried on charges of endangerment and assault and faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all the counts.
Morse says the allegation of waterboarding was his attempt to help the girl wash her hair.
The girl, now 12, and her mother have testified that Morse used hair-washing as a threat or punishment.
Morse, who has researched near-death experiences involving children, denies police claims that he may have been using waterboarding to experiment on the girl.
According to testimony, the allegations for which Morse is on trial came to light a day after he grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her across a driveway. The girl ran away the next day to a classmate's home, where the other girl's mother called police about the disheveled girl who showed up unexpectedly, looking sad. Police talked with the girl and went to her home, where Morse and her mother didn't know she was missing, and police questioned the family members further.
