Coverage Replay: Nicholas Luerkens murder trial

CEDAR RAPIDS — Opening statements started Tuesday morning in the Nicholas Luerkens first-degree murder trial in Linn County District Court.

Luerkens, 32, of Cedar Rapids, is accused of killing former girlfriend Lynnsey Donald, 29, in the parking lot of the Marion Hy-Vee on April 21. Court documents show Luerkens followed her and called her 175 times in less than three months in an attempt to reconcile with her.

Search warrants filed in the case state Luerkens ambushed Donald as she and her 7-year-old son came out of the store and were headed to the car. A surveillance video captured the incident and shows Donald holding her son's hand as Luerkens grabs her arm and stabs her multiple times. He then stabs and injures himself.

Donald's son wasn't injured. He ran from the parking lot and later identified Luerkens as his mother's attacker.

Jurors will watch the video during the trial.

Luerkens plans to claim he was insane or had diminished capacity and was intoxicated by drugs or alcohol at the time of the brutal assault, according to court documents.