Quebec judge charged in wife's death won't testify

A retired Quebec judge accused of killing his ill wife three years ago will not testify in his own defence.

Defence lawyers for Jacques Delisle told his jury trial that the 77-year-old retired justice will not give any testimony in the witness box.

That means the defence's case has been made, and the trial now moves into its final phase. Closing arguments are expected to begin Wednesday, and the judge is expected to deliver final instructions to the jury on Friday.

Delisle is accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of his wife Nicole Rainville, who had been struggling with the long-term effects of a major stroke.

Rainville was found dead in their Quebec City apartment in November 2009, with a bullet wound in her head.

Delisle initially reported her death as suicide.

But he was arrested less than a year later, and charged with first-degree murder.

The Crown alleges Delisle had grown tired of caring for his ill wife. Rainville was confined to a wheelchair after breaking her hip in the summer before her death.