Prosecution asks jury for a guilty verdict

District Attorney Stephen Kelley began the prosecution's closing arguments by telling the jury to reach a verdict "that reaches the truth in this case."

"I am here to ask you to convict Noel Chua on the charges against him," Kelley said.

He said the prosecution does not have to prove its case "to a mathematical certainty."

"We only have to come in here and prove to you the elements of all these charges to a reasonable doubt," he said.

He said Chua didn't have to have intent to convict him of murder. Instead, the felony of violating the state controlled substance act by prescribing drugs to Carter for no apparent medical reason led to the murder charge after the victim's overdose death.

Prescribing methadone, oxycodone and morphine intentionally and for not legitimate medical purpose, Chua should be found guilty of felony murder, Kelley said.

"We have to show the defendant intended to prescribe for no legitimate purpose," he said.

Testimony by medical experts said the methadone was enough to kill Carter. Other drugs found in Carter's system Kelley said Chua prescribed to Carter also contributed to the overdose death.

"Under this crime, it's the whole picture," he said. "If it was being sloppy, you could go in my office right now and I'd be guilty."

He said it's time for a jury to determine all the circumstances in the case.

"Only you a jury, the conscience of the community, can tell us what that means," he said.

Kelley said medical experts said drugs prescribed to Carter were "excessive," according to testimony by medical experts during the trial.

There were no evaluations in Carter's medical records to show if they were effective, he told jurors.

He said doctors who don't chart controlled substances are in violation of the law.

He showed jurors drug containers prescribed to Carter not charted in medical records.

Kelley continued to stack pain medications prescribed to Carter on a table in front of jurors, including nasal sprays, pills and patches.

But, it's not just about the medications, he told the jury.

He said Carter's parents didn't know when Chua hospitalized Carter in November 2005 for questionable reasons.

Carter was given enough morphine for a patient recovering from "major medical surgery," during his hospitalization.

"It's off the charts," he said. "Who was going to know? It was just Dr. Chua and Jamie Carter having a good time."

Chua ignored a nurse's concerns Carter was a drug seeker when he asked for specific narcotic pain medications in the hospital.

"This visit [to the hospital] was just a fabrication," he said. "It was just pushing drugs."