Trial begins for man accused in Ardmore model's death

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - In opening statements Monday, the prosecution accused Jonathan Wesley Harris,30, of the sick, demonic, torture and strangulation death of Christina Carlin-Kraft in her Ardmore apartment last August.

Jonathan Wesley Harris ignored a reporter's questions as he was led to and from a Montgomery County court.

The prosecution claims Harris beat and choked Kraft after the pair met on 13th Street in Philadelphia in late August of 2018. Investigators say Kraft was drunk and vulnerable at the time, the couple returned to her apartment for heavy drinking and sex.

"My defense is that he can't form the intent to kill because he doesn't even know what he's doing. Everything was done about of panic," Defense Attorney Chuck Peruto said.

Harris' parents sat on one side of the court as the jurors were shown bloody crime scene photos and women's' clothing. On the other side, Kraft's relatives listened to testimony on the last moments of her life.

Harris' attorney admits his client killed Kraft because he had smoked cat tranquilizer and was out of his mind.

"He is, in fact, the killer, but he had no intention of killing her. He didn't go there to kill her. They went, they did what they did. I don't want to say too much because I'll rather save it for court," Peruto said.

Defense attorney Peruto says he'll raise questions about Kraft's past. A plan certain to draw protest from the prosecution.