By  Seamus McGraw

(Continued)

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In what published reports have described as a sometimes emotionally charged closing statement on Tuesday, Drew Wrigley, U.S. attorney for North Dakota, recounted the evidence prosecutors had presented with 52 witnesses, arguing that bloodstains found in Rodriguez's car, along with other forensic evidence, clearly pointed to his guilt.

"The blood in Alfonso Rodriguez's car was Dru's voice shouting out, 'I was here, I was forced here,'" the prosecutor told jurors on Tuesday; according to published reports. "That girl fought; she's right here with all of us today. You can feel her strength. It's in the evidence and it's calling out to tell us what he did."

In his closing statement, defense attorney Robert Hoy attacked the prosecution's emotional appeal to the jury, arguing that the blood evidence, along with fibers that have linked Rodriguez to the slaying, all fail to address the critical question of precisely where and when Dru died. The defense has maintained that if the crime occurred in North Dakota, and if her body were transported afterward to Minnesota, then the federal court lacks jurisdiction.

"They want to talk about knives and blood and how nice a person Dru was," Hoy reportedly told the jury. "They want to talk about fibers and cars, none of which has anything to do with where she died."

The case will enter its second phase — virtually a separate trial — in which jurors will be asked to decide whether to recommend a life sentence or the death penalty for Rodriguez.

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