Rabbi Will Not Testify

Rabbi Fred Neulander told the judge at his retrial today that he will not testify, as he did at the first trial.

The defense rested Wednesday in Neulander's murder-for-hire case. The jury could start deliberations as early as Thursday afternoon.

A second jailhouse informant testified Wednesday that one of the men who has admitted killing a rabbi's wife said the slaying was a botched robbery and the rabbi was not involved.

Thomas Beardsley said Len Jenoff, the prosecution's star witness who has testified that the rabbi hired him do the killing, occupied the cell next to his in the Camden County Jail.

"He made it very clear that the rabbi had absolutely nothing to do with it," Beardsley said. "It was a robbery gone bad, and he killed the woman in the process."

Rabbi Fred Neulander is on trial on charges that he paid Jenoff and another man to kill his wife, Carol, in their Cherry Hill, N.J., home in November 1994, so he could carry on an affair with a Philadelphia radio host. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

A jury that heard the case last year could not reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared.

The retrial was moved to Monmouth County in an effort to seat jurors who had less exposure to the media coverage of the case.

Jenoff's credibility has been under constant attack by the defense. In his testimony earlier in the trial, Jenoff admitted that he lied about his background and exploits to make himself look important.

The jury previously heard another inmate who was housed in the jail with Jenoff give testimony similar to Beardsley's. James Keeny, who is serving time for burglary, said Tuesday that Jenoff told him twice that the rabbi had no involvement in the killing.

Beardsley was convicted of a sex offense, but the conviction is being appealed. Superior Court Judge Linda Baxter ruled the jury should not be told about that conviction because of the appeal.

The judge also ordered Wednesday that Beardsley not appear in the courtroom in prison-issued clothes. He was given a tie and jacket.

In other testimony Wednesday, Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Nancy Phillips read from stories she wrote after Jenoff admitted to her that he and Paul Daniels carried out the killing. Phillips was also present when Jenoff confessed to prosecutors.

The defense focused on Jenoff's statements to Phillips about the slaying that differed from his testimony. The prosecution centered on Jenoff's statements to the reporter about his intent to carry out the killing for the rabbi.

Phillips' testimony was limited by New Jersey law which shields reporters from testifying about anything more than what is in published stories.

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Author: NBC10/AP