SAN ANTONIO -- Ronnie Neal, who was found guilty of killing Alamo Heights teacher Diane Tilly, refused to appear in court Monday for the beginning of the punishment phase of his capital murder trial.

In a letter Neal sent to the judge from his jail cell, the defendant claimed he didn't want to take part in the second phase of his trial because he had AIDS and wanted to commit suicide. The letter also said that Neal didn't want his family to beg for mercy. Neal also denied killing Tilly, the letter said.

The defendant faces life in prison or death by lethal injection.

Among the first prosecution witnesses to testify was Pearl Cruz, the defendant's daughter. Cruz, who is testifying against her father in return for a lighter sentence, identified her father's handwriting in a poem.

"Whose handwriting is that?" a prosecutor asked Cruz.

"My dad's," Cruz responded.

The poem and other writings were an attempt by prosecutors to suggest that Neal is not mentally retarded, as defense attorneys claimed after the defendant was found guilty.

The defense hopes to prove Neal is mentally retarded in hopes of sparing his life.