THE defence in the Belfast trial of RUC man Mr John Torney who denies murdering his family is expected to begin today after, the closure of the prosecution case.
The trial, before Crown Court judge Lord Justice Carswell, yesterday entered its fourth week.
The constable is accused of murdering his wife Linda (33), 10 year old daughter Emma and 13 year old son John Jnr on September 19th, 1994.
The prosecution claims that Mr Torney (40) shot each of them in the head with his Ruger issue police revolver as they slept in their beds at their Lomond Heights home in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.
They also allege that Mr Torney's motive for the killings was greed and to escape his failing marriage after he had become infatuated" with fellow RUC officer Ailsa Millar.
Mr Torney says that he had been asleep in bed and was awakened by a loud bang to find his son standing over him with a gun. His son then ordered him out of the house after pressing two suicide notes into his hand.
Mr Torney later told police that his son had gone "berserk" and was armed with his revolver. But the prosecution claims that the alleged suicide notes written by Mr Torney's son were apologies from the boy to his parents for an earlier argument and that Mr Torney had kept them.
The notes, claimed the Crown, were apart of his twisted thinking", in the belief she could adopt them in his effort to attribute the blame to the boy for the killings".