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Provo • All of the evidence has been presented to the jurors who will decide whether Conrad Mark Truman is guilty of murdering his wife in their Orem home in 2012.
But the jury will wait until Tuesday before they hear closing arguments and render its verdict.
On Friday, Truman was cross-examined for about a half hour before the defense rested its case — after 11 days of testimony over three weeks, mostly from prosecution witnesses.
Fourth District Judge Samuel McVey told the jurors to return Tuesday, in order to give attorneys time to discuss jury instructions and prepare their closing arguments.
Truman, 32, is charged with first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstructing justice in the death of his 25-year-old wife, Heidy Truman.
The Orem man took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday, telling the jurors several times that he did not kill his wife.
The first question asked by defense attorney James Park: "Did you shoot your wife?"
"No," Truman replied.
Truman was outwardly calm and soft-spoken throughout his testimony. He told the jury about his marriage to Heidy Truman, and how they would leave love notes for one another throughout their home.
Eventually, Conrad Truman discussed the night of Sept. 30, 2012, when the woman was fatally shot in their Orem home.
The night Heidy Truman died, her husband said they had been watching the television shows "Dexter" and "Homeland" and drinking Maker's Mark whiskey when at some point, he heard yelling outside.
Conrad Truman testified that he grabbed his dog and his gun and went to investigate. He did see a strange man on his walk, he testified, and told his wife about it when he returned home.
The couple continued talking about various topics, including whether they should get another dog, when Heidy Truman became irritated with him and decided to take a bath, the husband testified.
After about 20 minutes, Conrad Truman said he heard a pop and looked at his wife, who was standing naked in the hallway.
"It was my wife," he testified. "There was a choking sound and blood. Everything happened so fast. It's way too difficult to explain."
The husband testified that somehow both he and his wife ended up on the floor. He tried to perform CPR and called 911.
When police arrived, they found blood everywhere — in the kitchen where Heidy Truman's naked body lay, in the front entry, the living room, a bedroom, a bathroom and on Truman himself.
Police began to suspect Conrad Truman of murder when he told conflicting stories about her death, saying at different times that an intruder could have been in the home, that someone may have shot her through a window or that his wife shot herself.
"I know I didn't have a gun," Conrad Truman testified. "I know I didn't shoot a gun. I was just doing the best I could to find an analytical way to find out what happened."
Prosecutors have accused Conrad Truman of killing his wife in order to collect nearly $1 million in life insurance benefits.
Defense attorney Ronald Yengich told a jury during opening statements that Heidy Truman likely died by accident — that she shot herself when she slipped and fell while holding a handgun after taking a bath.
Twitter: @jm_miller