MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys in the murder trial of a former Middle Tennessee State University freshman who stabbed to death her roommate presented very different pictures of the problems that lead to a deadly fight last year.
Lawyers gave those differing views during opening statements Wednesday in the murder trial of Shanterrica Madden. The 19-year-old is accused of stabbing her former roommate to death, MTSU basketball player Tina Stewart.
Madden, who is charged with first-degree murder, is claiming that she acted in self-defense.
Lawyers said the March 2, 2011 confrontation began after Stewart called police on Madden for smoking marijuana in their off-campus apartment.
Assistant District Attorney General Paul Newman said Stewart had been warned that being around marijuana smoke could cause her to fail a drug test and lose her basketball scholarship.