the defendant has to testify as material facts about Maureens state of mind were alluded to in defence openings, plus defence gave a detailed description of how her husband found her body, and the only way that evidence ia available has to come from him, even though openings are not evidence you have to make sure that everything you say in openings will be a part of the evidence you expect to be able to provide, as according to his defence she killed herself he moved the body and only he would know this, as when she was found she was in bed and nobody but he has ever stated she was moved,
also all information relating to her state of mind can be brought out by the state, which is a blow to the defence as all her conversations and behaviour prior to her death that she had with friends and family show no apparent suicidal ideations, she appeared to have been getting everything in place to leave him, and to be wanting to move on with her life with her children, he was the one who was losing everything,