STROUDSBURG -- A couple on trial in Monroe County accused of neglecting an older woman to death insist they did the best they could in caring for the woman.
Their defense attorneys have taken over the case and are now presenting the defendants' side of the story.
Wednesday afternoon, John Tedesco of Saylorsburg took the stand in his own defense, trying to convince jurors that 70-year-old Barbara Rabins was like a mother to him, admitting under oath he should have done more.
Tedesco spoke to jurors for the first time in Monroe County court explaining what he called a loving relationship with Barbara Rabins.
Newswatch 16 asked Tedesco if he thought testifying would help his case. Tedesco said, “Hopefully.”
On the stand, Tedesco explained how the relationship between him and the victim began more than 20 years ago in New Jersey. Rabins didn’t have anyone else, so Tedesco said, “I'd take her to the mall, Friday's Restaurant. She started to come over, we'd have a birthday party for her, Christmas."
But when the Tedescos decided to move to Saylorsburg, Rabins would cry and was upset. That’s when they decided to let her move in with them here in Pennsylvania. She also helped pay her way.
Tedesco said, “Barbara paid half the rent and we paid the other half and some utilities. It was Barbara's idea after everything we had done for her this was her way of helping us out."
When Rabins had a stroke in 2010, the Tedescos say that’s when things changed. They took her out of a nursing home in New Jersey because , "She would call and complain. She was miserable (in the nursing home)."
He also told prosecutors he should have done more. The night Rabins died choking on a piece of cheese, Tedesco testified he watched Rabins eat at least two pieces and saw the fecal matter under her nails.
The man from Saylorsburg says he’s not admitting neglect and says they weren’t living off the thousands of dollars they allegedly took from her trust each month.
The defense is expected to wrap up their case this week. The Tedescos are both facing third degree murder charges.