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Andrea Constand, 45, contends the former star
of "The Cosby Show" gave her three little blue pills he said
would help her relax and then sexually assaulted her at his home
outside Philadelphia in 2004.
Judge Steven O'Neill said he anticipated the jury to begin their
deliberations next week. The first trial against Cosby ended in
a mistrial in June.
Cosby, 80, says any sexual contact with Constand was consensual.
He could face 10 years in prison if convicted.
The identity of the defense witnesses due to appear was not made
public before Friday's court session.
On Thursday, Timothy Rohrig, a forensic toxicologist from
Wichita, Kansas, called as the final prosecution witness,
testified about the effects of Benadryl and Quaaludes, which
Cosby in a 2005 deposition said he used to seduce women. Rohrig
said the pills could have left Constand feeling incapacitated.
Constand testified last week that after swallowing the pills she
experienced double vision, slurred her words, had dry mouth, and
her legs felt "rubbery," even paralyzed. She was an
administrator for the women's basketball team at Cosby's alma
mater, Temple University.
"All these symptoms she described, and the timing of the
symptoms, were consistent with the ingestion of diphenhydramine,"
Rohrig said, using the generic name for Benadryl. The drug is
commonly used for allergies.
The same symptoms also could have been caused by Quaaludes,
which additionally make the user "very sleepy," he testified at
Montgomery Count Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Quaaludes are a sedative.
About 50 women have accused Cosby of sexually assaulting them,
sometimes after plying them with drugs or alcohol in a series of
alleged attacks dating back decades. Constand's charge is the
only one recent enough to be the subject of criminal
prosecution.
Cosby's defense team, which has portrayed Constand as a
money-hungry con artist, aimed to cast doubt on Constand's
statements that the pills left her so impaired she could not
resist.
A toxicologist testifying for the defense, Dr. Harry Milman,
called Benadryl "one of the safest drugs on the market" and said
Quaaludes were not available in the Philadelphia area in 2004.
(Editing by Alison Williams)
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