Man accused of killing teenage girl asks to represent self

ST. CLOUD, Fla. — The trial will continue Tuesday for an Osceola County man accused of killing his teenage girlfriend, and then abandoning her body in a backyard.

Anthony Guglielmini, 21,  asked for the right to represent himself Monday.

However, as the trial opened Monday, Guglielmini let a lawyer do the talking. So far, the jury has not heard a word from the defendant at the Osceola County courthouse in Kissimmee.

He was given the right to represent himself in his second-degree murder trial, but so far, he's left the legal objections and cross-examinations to veteran attorney Frank Bankowitz, who had been expected to be his backup attorney.

Guglielmini is accused of killing Ashley Jung, 16, whose decomposed body was found in the back yard of an abandoned St. Cloud home in June 2011.

Prosecutors said 21-year-old Guglielmini was dating the victim. The two got into a fight while having sex at an abandoned home around the corner from his parent's house.

The state said Guglielmini strangled Jung and left her body to rot in the summer heat for three weeks as sheriff's deputies searched for her and interviewed Guglielmini, who prosecutors said repeatedly lied.

Investigators said he seemed nervous, shaky and smoked cigarette after cigarette, while avoiding eye contact. They said his hands fidgeted and his eyes twitched.

Guglielmini projected a very different image in court Monday, taking notes with an elegant pen and repeatedly consulting his attorney.

It's not clear if he intends to examine witnesses or leave the work in the courtroom to his lawyer.

WFTV