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pews were already packed, not surprising because of the notoriety of the case. Two sheriff’s officers stood at opposite ends of the courtroom.
    Exactly at 9 A.M. , the clerk proclaimed, “All rise for the court,” and Judge Glen Roth exited from his chambers and stepped onto the bench.
    â€œGood morning, counsel,” he said. “This is the matter of State v. Betsy Grant. We are about to begin the trial. Are you both ready to proceed with your opening statements?”
    â€œYes, Your Honor,” they both replied.
    The judge turned his head toward the sheriff’s officer standing by the jury room door and said, “Please bring in the jury.”
    The fourteen jurors filed into the jury box. Judge Roth greeted them and told them that the attorneys would now begin their opening statements. He explained that whatever the attorneys said to them was argument, and not evidence. He told them that because the prosecutor has the burden of proof in a criminal case, the prosecutor would proceed first with his opening statement. Then he looked toward the prosecutor and said, “You may begin.”
    â€œThank you, Your Honor,” Elliot Holmes said as he rose from his chair and walked toward the jury box.
    â€œGood morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Elliot Holmes and I am a chief assistant prosecutor in the office of the Bergen County prosecutor. During the next couple of weeks I will be presenting to you witnesses and other evidence in the matter of The State of New Jersey v. Betsy Grant. The judge has already informed you of the charges, but it is appropriate during the opening statement that the prosecutor read to the jury the indictment that has been returned by the grand jury.”
    Delaney listened as Elliot Holmes read from the indictment that, on or about March 22nd, eighteen months ago, Betsy Grant did purposely or knowingly cause the death of her husband, Dr. Edward Grant. “This, ladies and gentlemen is a murder charge.”
    In a conversational tone, addressing the jury, Holmes said the evidence would show that Betsy Grant had married Dr. Edward Grant, a widower, nearly seventeen years ago. “The state does not dispute that for a very long time it was a happy marriage. Dr. Grant was a successful orthopedic surgeon and the couple lived a very comfortable lifestyle in their home in Alpine. You will hear that the defendant was a high school teacher and took a leave of absence about two years before Dr. Grant died.
    â€œBut the evidence will further show that, tragically, about eight years ago, Edward Grant began to display symptoms of forgetfulness and severe irritability which were totally inconsistent with his prior behavior and his prior demeanor. Neurological testing resulted in a devastating diagnosis—early onset Alzheimer’s disease.
    â€œIt was devastating for Dr. Grant because it quickly advanced, and within months he was no longer able to function as a surgeon. As the years went by, tragically, he was no longer able to function in any independent way. He lived at his home in Alpine with Betsy Grant and was attended to by a caregiver who in his final years bathed him, dressed him, and fed him.
    â€œThis diagnosis and steady decline were also, of course, devastating for Betsy Grant. Again, the state does not dispute that this was a happy marriage for a long time. But the evidence will show that this tragic diagnosis and the ever-increasing decline of Edward Grant resulted in Betsy Grant wanting it to end. And when it ended, she would inherit half of his substantial estate as a co-heir with Alan Grant, his thirty-five-year-old son from his first marriage. And she would also be free to pursue a personal life that had so very much changed while he was ill. You will hear, ladies and gentlemen, that during the two years prior to Edward Grant’s death, the defendant had been quietly but regularly seeing another man.
    â€œThe evidence will further show