DOVER, N.H. (AP) – The trial of a Somersworth man accused of murdering his pregnant ex-girlfriend from Maine began with his lawyer telling the jury he did commit the killing, but should not be found guilty of murder.

Barbara Keshen told jurors on Thursday that Anthony O’Leary lost control when he repeatedly stabbed 17-year-old Treasure Genaw last June. She argued he should be charged with manslaughter, not murder.

“Something in him snapped,” Keshen. Contrary to the state’s contention that he was in control, “he lost all control,” she said.

Genaw, of South Berwick, Maine, was three months pregnant with O’Leary’s baby. Relatives testified that Genaw broke up with O’Leary in the weeks before she died.

Prosecutor David Ruoff gave jurors a graphic depiction of the night of the murder, saying O’Leary stabbed Genaw at least nine times with a blue utility knife. He argued the death was murder, and that O’Leary should get life in prison.

In court, O’Leary was wearing a device called a stun belt that can deliver an electrical shock capable of disabling him if he becomes unruly. The device was used because O’Leary became unruly in jail and tried to escape.

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