THE MAN charged with killing a Westcountry couple in New York after

having an epileptic fit at the wheel of a truck stopped taking

medication because it dulled the effects of alcohol, a court heard

yesterday.

Auvryn Scarlett, 53, faces two counts of

second-degree murder over the deaths of mother-of-four Jackie Timmins,

47, and her partner, Andrew Hardie, 48, from Plymouth.

The couple died after the recycling vehicle mounted a kerb and crashed

into them in Madison Square Garden on February 12 last year. They had

been walking from a restaurant to the Comfort Inn where they were

staying for a four-night Valentine's treat.

The New York Supreme

Court yesterday heard evidence from neurologist Dr Anthony Paul Geraci

who treated Scarlett immediately after the crash. Dr Geraci said he

interviewed Scarlett about his medical history and about his social

habits.

"He mentioned that he liked to drink beer and rum on

weekends but the last drink had been two nights prior to when I saw him

in the emergency room," said Dr Geraci. "I was struck by his statement

he made that he stopped taking Dilantin, the medication to prevent

seizures, because it interfered with the way he wanted to drink on

weekends."

He said: "I've heard, in the context of other

patients, that when they take Dilantin with alcohol the effects of the

alcohol are diminished."

Dr Geraci also told the court that the

chances of having an epileptic fit were higher while the body was

metabolising alcohol. "There is a very general window of probably

within 24 hours of the blood alcohol level getting down to zero... that

the brain is susceptible and more likely to having a seizure," he said.

Defence

lawyer Michael Biniakewitz pointed out that there was no record of a

test carried to determine the levels of alcohol in Scarlett's blood on

the day of the accident.

The court also heard medical evidence

from Dr Jason Graham, a forensic pathologist at New York's Chief

Medical Examiner's Office.

Dr Graham said Miss Timmins had been

decapitated in the crash and that Mr Hardie suffered multiple injuries

including broken ribs, which he said may have prevented him from

breathing and caused his death.

Earlier the court heard that

Scarlett, who suffers from epilepsy, told police after the crash he had

not taken his medication for two weeks. He was initially charged with

second- degree manslaughter but the murder charge was brought in to

reflect new allegations that he had lied about having epilepsy to get a

commercial driving licence.

The trial continues.