CARIBOU (AP) – It could be weeks before the judge who’s weighing the fate of a man charged with killing his coffee shop supervisor issues his written verdict.

Justice Allen Hunter took the case under advisement upon the conclusion of closing arguments on Friday. He told attorneys that he has a lot of evidence to review and a busy trial schedule that could delay his ruling.

“There is an incredible amount of evidence involved,” he told attorneys before they were dismissed from Aroostook County Superior Court. Hunter was deciding the case without a jury at the request of the defense.

In his closing argument, defense lawyer Brad Macdonald called the incident a “tragedy.” Assistant Attorney General Andrew Benson called it an “atrocity.”

Shumway, 20, of Caribou, was accused of kicking and beating Erin Sperrey at the Tim Hortons restaurant in Caribou on Jan. 2, 2005. Shumway left her to die in an employee bathroom while he continued to serve drive-through and walk-in customers, prosecutors said.

Sperrey’s mother, Johna Lovley, said the trial was difficult. “Even though we had prepared ourselves, this week was very stressful,” she said. “We are not feeling any better than we did, and we are still waiting for the outcome.”

Shumway, who’s charged with murder, robbery and gross sexual assault, is accused of attacking Sperrey in the coffee shop’s walk-in cooler and in the employee bathroom.

Afterward, Shumway stuffed Sperrey’s lifeless body in her car and drove south for 120 miles until he spun out on Interstate 95 in a snowstorm. He abandoned the body and the car, and hitched a ride to a Bangor motel, where he was arrested the next day.

At some point, Shumway allegedly sexually assaulted Sperrey.

The defense did not try to rebut evidence that Shumway was responsible for Sperrey’s death. Instead, it contended Shumway had a history of mental illness and that he was not criminally responsible for his actions.

Macdonald contended Shumway suffered from post traumatic stress disorder after being sexually abused as a young boy, and that he flew into a rage when Sperrey mentioned the incestuous sexual abuse.

“He was not able to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct,” Macdonald told the judge.

Benson described Shumway as “a deeply disturbed young man, a profoundly broken human being.” But he said Shumway was able to appreciate right from wrong. Therefore, Shumway should be convicted of murder, Benson said.

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-07-15-06 1134EDT