Grisly photos shown at teen's trial

BUNNELL, Fla., Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Crime scene photos show the nature of the slaying of a 66-year-old disabled Florida man, allegedly by a 15-year-old runaway girl, prosecutors say.

The photographs were introduced as evidence Tuesday in the Bunnell, Fla., murder trial of Morgan Leppert, now 16, accused of beating, stabbing, stomping and suffocating James Stewart to death, The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union reported.

The newspaper said prosecutors introduced the photos to counter repeated defense claims Leppert, who was being sought by police as a runaway at the time of the slaying, was merely "a 15-year-old child."

Leppert faces life imprisonment.

Her adult boyfriend, Toby Lowry, has already pleaded guilty to taking part in Stewart's slaying, avoiding a possible death sentence and agreeing to testify against Leppert, the Times-Union said.

Also testifying Tuesday was Robert Bruckner, 44, a homeless hitchhiker who traveled across the country with the couple after they picked him up in Valdosta, Ga. Bruckner said Leppert appeared to be in charge of the couples' actions during the drive, allegedly slapping Lowry several times for tickling her or incorrectly ordering her food, the newspaper said.