They wanted nothing to do with the possibility, he says, that Zoloft had altered Zach's brain chemistry causing the uncontrollable rage.
"For two weeks," Mr Schmidkunz recalls, "we sat through a barrage of attempts by the prosecution to lead the jury to believe that Zach was a good kid who went bad and his psychological profile was such that he was destined to be a murder."
"It was nearly more than we could bare," he says, "sitting through this fabrication and distortion of facts."
Even after the trial, Zach says, it took him a long time to get to the point where he accepts that the adverse reactions from Zoloft caused him to commit murder.
"I came to realize that I would not normally kill a human being," he explained, "most importantly not somebody I considered a friend."
"After much self-reflection over days without sleep in jail," he recounts, "I realized that there was no other explanation for what I did, other than the medication having an effect."
"I was suicidal," Zach said, "not homicidal."
And like so many other people who have committed violent acts brought on by adverse reactions to SSRIs have said, Zach said, "it was like watching himself in a movie going to get the shotgun."
He had this over-powering urge to shoot something and tried to stop himself but was powerless to do so, he told his parents.
Zach describes the guilt he feels as devastating. "I took a human life," he said, "its the most horrific feeling in the world."
Another thing that really bothers him, Zach says, is that he hates violence against women. "I was taught to hold doors open for them, to be nice and never, never hit a woman," Zach said.
"It tears me apart knowing that the person I killed was female," he added.
He feels the most remorse over what this has done to Alexis' family. "Its a tough reality accepting the responsibility of what you've done," Zach said, "to see the other family's pain."
He describes this feeling as "gut wrenching."
During his closing argument, the prosecutor said Zach made a choice to take a life when he became angry, instead of just walking away. He also chipped away at every area of Zach's character.
All his life, Zach had attended church regularly with his family and had even been a counselor at a Christian Bible camp the previous summer.
"For two weeks," Mr Schmidkunz recalls, "we sat through a barrage of attempts by the prosecution to lead the jury to believe that Zach was a good kid who went bad and his psychological profile was such that he was destined to be a murder."
"It was nearly more than we could bare," he says, "sitting through this fabrication and distortion of facts."
Even after the trial, Zach says, it took him a long time to get to the point where he accepts that the adverse reactions from Zoloft caused him to commit murder.
"After much self-reflection over days without sleep in jail," he recounts, "I realized that there was no other explanation for what I did, other than the medication having an effect."
"I was suicidal," Zach said, "not homicidal."
And like so many other people who have committed violent acts brought on by adverse reactions to SSRIs have said, Zach said, "it was like watching himself in a movie going to get the shotgun."
He had this over-powering urge to shoot something and tried to stop himself but was powerless to do so, he told his parents.
Zach describes the guilt he feels as devastating. "I took a human life," he said, "its the most horrific feeling in the world."
Another thing that really bothers him, Zach says, is that he hates violence against women. "I was taught to hold doors open for them, to be nice and never, never hit a woman," Zach said.
"It tears me apart knowing that the person I killed was female," he added.
He feels the most remorse over what this has done to Alexis' family. "Its a tough reality accepting the responsibility of what you've done," Zach said, "to see the other family's pain."
He describes this feeling as "gut wrenching."
During his closing argument, the prosecutor said Zach made a choice to take a life when he became angry, instead of just walking away. He also chipped away at every area of Zach's character.
All his life, Zach had attended church regularly with his family and had even been a counselor at a Christian Bible camp the previous summer.
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