Steven Zernhelt  Steven Zernhelt, shown in a 2009 family photo.
(Contributed photo)  In a surprise, Michael Eric Ballard's
defense attorneys rested their case Monday afternoon without
calling further witnesses.  Public defender Michael Corriere
said it was a "tactical" decision to prevent prosecutors from
presenting further damaging letters that Ballard wrote from
prison after the four murders he committed last summer.  The
death-penalty trial will resume Tuesday, when District Attorney
John Morganelli said he will have brief rebuttal testimony
before closing arguments begin. Then the jury will be charged
and deliberate Ballard's fate.   The jury is deciding whether
Ballard should be executed or sentenced to life in prison
without parole.  Monday marked the third day of testimony in the
defense's case. Among developments: It was revealed that in the
days leading up to murder, Ballard and his girlfriend exchanged
text messages in which they expressed love and talked about
marriage and having a baby.  In total,