POUGHKEEPSIE - The lawyer for a man accused of killing a family of five last year tried to discredit the prosecution's main witness - a man already convicted for the murders - in closing arguments Tuesday.

Charles Gilleo Jr., 33, and Mark Serrano, 30, were charged with multiple counts of murder, arson, burglary, perjury and robbery after Tina and Manuel “Tony” Morey and their three sons were killed in the early hours of Jan. 19, 2007. The parents were shot and their sons - Manuel 13; Adam, 10; and Ryan, 6 - were stabbed multiple times. The oldest boy was stabbed more than 80 times, and the youngest boy was also bludgeoned on the head.

Serrano was convicted on 41 of 42 counts in December and testified for the prosecution in Gilleo's trial, which began earlier this month in Dutchess County Court.

Throughout the trial, defense attorney Jeffrey Hoerter pointed out there was no forensic evidence linking Gilleo to the crime scene, but there was physical evidence to put Serrano there.

In his closing statement, Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Edward McLoughlin said the absence of DNA evidence didn't prove Gilleo wasn't involved.

Hoerter argued that Serrano's testimony wasn't credible because he repeatedly gave conflicting accounts of what happened that night. Serrano admitted that he gave a different account at his own trial, but insisted that he was now telling the truth.

“What links Gilleo to these crimes is Mark Serrano. If I can be candid, how can you trust anything Serrano says?” Hoerter asked. “He spun a web of lies. He lied on the witness stand.”

Serrano's explanations and testimony “strain the bounds of credulity,” Hoerter said. He also called several other witnesses into question because of their history of drugs and crime.

McLoughlin argued that the case was ultimately about accountability and not placing blame on others or trying to use witnesses' criminal backgrounds to discredit their testimony.

“Drug use or crimes doesn't necessarily mean you can't be trusted or believed,” McLoughlin told the jury. “Calling them criminals or drug addicts is an attempt to get you not to trust them, but that doesn't mean that what they said doesn't have weight.”

McLoughlin said drugs, anger and bitterness spurred Gilleo to kill Tony Morey, his former friend.

He argued that Gilleo was upset Morey stopped giving him drugs on credit and ultimately used Serrano to help him pull off the crimes.

“Serrano is a follower. But that's who you bring to do something like this,” he said.

Prosecutors said the two men went to the Morey's home to steal cocaine after several hours of drinking and doing drugs.

After the killings, they tried to cover up the crime by setting fire to the family's car and their home in Fishkill, about 60 miles north of New York City.

McLoughlin ended his arguments by showing the court pictures of the dead family and pleading with the jury to bring justice for the Morey family.

“There's not many events that leave me speechless,” he said. “But this wasn't just a robbery of drugs. It was the theft of five lives.”

The jury deliberated about 3-1/2 hours before retiring for the evening Tuesday without reaching a verdict. Deliberations were to resume on Wednesday.