Jeffrey Knoble, 27, is charged with killing Andrew "Beep" White in Easton.
UPDATE: Alleged killer flips off prosecutor, demands mistrial
Two years after the death of Andrew "Beep" White, prosecutors have offered no motive for his murder at the hands of Jeffrey Knoble.
On Monday morning, Knoble gave his reason: that White sexually assaulted him while he was passed out in a hotel.
"I just woke up and he was naked. Andrew. He was naked. He had his hands down my pants and was kissing on my neck," Knoble testified Monday in Northampton County Court.
Defense attorney Gavin Holihan said Knoble perceived the sexual assault as an insult, a threat to his manhood and threat to his reputation.
"I just snapped. I just snapped out," Knoble said. "I pushed him off. It felt like it wasn't me. It felt like, what is it called? Like autopilot and I just put the pillow over his head and I just shot him in his head."
Knoble is accused of killing White after White paid for a hotel room at the former Quality Inn in Easton on March 11, 2015. Knoble faces the death penalty.
As a member of the Bloods gang, engaging in a homosexual act is a sign of weakness, Holihan said.
"If he's identified as being a homosexual in any way shape or form, his life will be over," said Holihan, adding that this was Knoble's perception, but perhaps not the reality, that this was a life-changing threat.
Knoble was homeless and desperate, and White put him up for the night and paid for a meal, according to Assistant District Attorney Terence Houck. Houck previously identified White as an openly gay man. He also called him a generous and kind man.
Holihan said White's motives for putting Knoble up for the night were sinister. Holihan said Knoble had been up for three to four days straight, high on methamphetamine. Knoble also ingested K2, or synthetic marijuana, that night and both of the men drank vodka.
According to Holihan, White took advantage of Knoble's heavy intoxication, waited until he passed out, then stripped and made a sexual advance on him.
"That's why Andrew White was naked. Jeffrey Knoble didn't strip Andrew White. Andrew White got naked himself," Holihan said.
He said Knoble overreacted by shooting White. Then he panicked. He tied White up and tried to drag him off the bed to dispose of the body, but quickly abandoned that plan, Holihan said.
'I don't feel guilty," Knoble allegedly said after fatal shooting
He argued those facts add up to voluntary manslaughter or third-degree murder, which is murder with malice but not a predetermined plan to kill.
"You're going to hear it today it was a combination of drugs, alcohol and fear of being labeled a homosexual that drives him to react in a way that kills Andrew White," Holihan said. "It's not specific intent to kill."
Prosecution witnesses have labeled Knoble as a liar and a manipulator and White as a good Samaritan. Knoble's mother, his two ex-girlfriends and a friend have all testified against him.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.