Defense and State rest their case in Dudley murder trial

Closing arguments are scheduled for first thing Wednesday morning in the murder trial of a 51 year-old man accused of shooting his common law wife two years ago in east El Paso.

After hearing from numerous witnesses over the past week, both the defense and the state rested their cases Tuesday afternoon.

Greg Dudley faces up to 99 years or life in prison if convicted of killing 38 year-old Deanna Stewart on Jerry Lewis way back in April of 2015.

ABC-7 learned Tuesday that Dudley has chosen not take the stand in his own defense.

Stewart’s body was discovered in the home by her daughter, who testified last week that Dudley would not let her inside the home when she came to visit.

According to court records, the couple had a history of domestic violence.

Dudley watched today as El Paso police detective after detective was recalled to the stand by defense attorneys, in an attempt to poke holes in the investigation. Most of the testimony centered on possible alternative suspects the police allegedly did not investigate, which could end up being the basis of a defense closing argument that may attempt to cast reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.

Meanwhile, the state appears set to recap testimony it hopes shows a pattern of abuse that eventually led to Dudley shooting and killing Stewart in their east side home.

The jury of six men and six women, which has appeared antsy at times, seemed relieved that closing arguments are near. They are scheduled to begin at 9 a-m Wednesday in the 120th district court.