Curtis Young’s defense starts in capital murder trial

YOUNGSTOWN — Curtis Young’s defense lawyers began presenting their witnesses this morning in his capital murder trial after the prosecution rested its case Tuesday afternoon following just two days of testimony.

The jury trial is before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Young, 26, is charged with aggravated murder with firearm and death penalty specifications.

The charges stem from a July 31, 2007, shooting, which killed Young’s ex-girlfriend, Helen Moore, 29, of Cassius Street; her nearly full-term fetus; and her 8-year-old son, Ceonei, who was the front-seat passenger in the car she was driving when she was shot outside Young’s Center Street residence.

The prosecution says Young killed purposely and with prior calculation and design, but the defense says Young fired in self-defense as Moore tried to run over him with her car.