STROUDSBURG -- Prosecutors in Monroe County have rested their case in a gruesome murder trial.
Charles Hicks of Tobyhanna is accused of murdering and dismembering Deanna Null of Scranton in 2008, and then scattering her body along two highways.
The prosecution rested late Monday afternoon after calling more than 25 witnesses in the case against Charles Hicks.
On Monday there was more testimony from experts and investigators, and for the first time, jurors were able to hear from Hicks himself.
Charles Hicks of Tobyhanna entered the main courtroom of the Monroe Country Courthouse on the fourth day of testimony at his murder trial.
The prosecution has called more than 25 witnesses, including a state police investigator who told jurors about evidence found in Hicks' car that links him to victim Deanna Null.
During the search that took place a couple months after Null's body was found in 2008, troopers took work boots from the back of Hicks' car.
Forensic teams were able to detect dried blood on the bottom of his boots.
They say that blood matched Null's DNA.
Forensic analysts also looked at hairs found in Hicks' home in Tobyhanna. Hairs gathered from a scrub brush and a basement stair also belonged to Null according to DNA testing.
Investigators in the case painted a picture for jurors about the first time they interviewed Hicks about the death of the victim.
Troopers said Hicks appeared "calm, relaxed, didn't seem overly nervous."
Part of that first interview was recorded on an audio tape.
In court, jurors listened to Hicks tell the story himself. He explained how he met Null in January of 2008, had sex with her twice, knowing she was a prostitute, and also did crack cocaine with her.
But when investigators asked him if he murdered Null, Hicks denied it.
Court will reconvene again on Wednesday, after the Veterans Day holiday.
The defense is expected to call forensic experts to the stand first.
Hicks' attorney says their client wants to take the stand in his own defense but they are advising him not to do so.