Pitino accuser won’t testify as her lawyer rests case without calling any witnesses

No testimony from Pitino accuser as defense rests

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A woman charged with extortion will not take the stand in her trial for allegedly demanding millions to keep quiet about sex with Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino.

It was never clear if 50-year-old Karen Cunagin Sypher would testify on her own behalf at the Louisville trial. But her lawyer ended any chance of calling her by resting the defense case Wednesday morning without calling any witnesses.

Prosecutors ended their case Tuesday after a week of sometimes lurid testimony. Pitino himself testified about the night in 2003 that he and Sypher had sex in a closed Italian restaurant.

Closing arguments in U.S. District Court in Louisville are set to begin later on Wednesday.