CHARLESTON, S.C. — Prosecutors rested their case Thursday against a boy who claims an adverse reaction to the antidepressant Zoloft caused him to kill his grandparents as they slept when he was just 12 years old.

Christopher Pittman, now 15, dabbed tears from his eyes with a tissue as a forensic pathologist illustrated how birdshot pellets fired at close range ended the lives of Christopher's grandparents.

Christopher has admitted to pulling the trigger of a .410-gauge shotgun that his father had given him as a gift a week before the Nov. 28, 2001, slayings.

Dr. Joel Sexton, the prosecution's final witness, told jurors that the shotgun was 3 to 6 feet from the victims when it was fired. Although the bodies were charred from a fire that Christopher set before fleeing, Sexton estimated the distance based on the more than 90 pellets found in Joe Pittman's skull and 73 pellets in Joy Pittman's.

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Joe Pittman, 66, was shot through the mouth. Joy Pittman, 62, who was sleeping on her side when she was killed, was shot in the side of the head.

"The indications were that Joe and Joy Pittman were dead before the fire," Sexton testified.

Most of the 16 witnesses called by the state were police officers, arson investigators and firefighters.

Lead defense attorney Andy Vickery tried unsuccessfully to have the two murder charges against Christopher dismissed, arguing outside the presence of the jury that prosecutors failed to prove that the boy acted with malice and forethought, a necessary element.

"We have direct evidence of malice," said prosecutor John Meadors, reminding Judge Danny Pieper of testimony about Christopher's confession. "In his own words: 'They deserved it.'"

The defense contends that Christopher's behavior and statements after the killings are all a side effect of the Zoloft he was taking for what his family doctor diagnosed as mild depression.

Christopher, who is being charged as an adult, faces up to life in prison if convicted of the two counts.

The defense's first witness testified Thursday that Christopher was a good boy and great companion to his own son.

"My son [Mitchell] and Christopher are both very similar. I had prayed for years for that kind of friend for my son," said Chris Snelgrove, pastor of New Hope Methodist Church in Chester, S.C. "They met and they were both shy and developed a friendship right away ... They became fast friends."

Snelgrove said he would have no concerns about Christopher spending time with Mitchell even now.

"You would take him into your home today?" Vickery, the defense attorney, asked.

"Today," Snelgrove replied emphatically.

Snelgrove said he never saw any problems with Christopher before he began taking Zoloft.

"Absolutely not. Of all the young men I know, I'd put him up within the top five ... in terms of behavior and character," the preacher said.

On cross-examination, Snelgrove admitted to being sympathetic to Christopher's plight.

"You really can't be very partial, can you?" Meadors, the prosecutor, asked.

"If you mean by the question, can I forget biases toward Christopher?" Snelgorove said. "No, sir."

Snelgrove also testified that he did not see Christopher much between June and November 2001, when he moved from Florida to South Carolina to live with his grandparents