>> reporter: it was a quote similar to one in shakespeare's play "the merchant of venice." >> if you harm me, shall i not revenge? >> not often does "the merchant of venice" come up in a murder trial. >> never before in my career, yeah. >> but that's your motive. >> sums up the case. that's our motive. yeah. >> reporter: they argued that garcia killed because he was angry about his termination from creighton and that it prevented him from being accepted into other programs to which he later applied. >> as he continues to try and have some sort of a career, it follows him. every time he tried to get into a different program or licensed somewhere, this creighton thing pops up. >> reporter: and prosecutors said items found in garcia's home indicated that he was trying to destroy traces of his troubled past. >> there's this trash bag sitting in the sink, a chemical odor emanating from that, and it's all these papers in there. in these papers after they're dried out is the termination letter from dr. brumback and dr. hunter. handwritten notes.