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Defense rests in Schaffhausen case

By: Associated Press//April 10, 2013//

Defense rests in Schaffhausen case

By: Associated Press//April 10, 2013//

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State Prosecutor Gary Freyberg demonstrates how Cecilia Schaffhausen, the youngest child, was choked by her father during testimony Tuesday at Aaron Schaffhausen's insanity trial at a St. Croix County Courtroom in Hudson. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Elizabeth Flores)

HUDSON, Wis. (AP) — A father who admitted killing his three daughters in western Wisconsin won’t testify at his insanity trial.

The defense has rested in St. Croix County Circuit Court where jurors will decide whether Aaron Schaffhausen is legally responsible for the girls’ deaths or whether his mental state means he’s not guilty because of his disease and should be institutionalized.

The prosecution and defense have both provided psychiatric testimony on Schaffhausen’s mental state.

Psychologist J. Reid Meloy testified Tuesday for the defense. He told the court Schaffhausen meets the requirements of legal insanity.

On Monday, Dr. Ralph Baker, a court-appointed psychiatrist, testified that he found Schaffhausen was legally sane when he killed the girls, ages 5, 8 and 11, in their River Falls home on July 10.

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