The maid had previously been subjected to questions by lawyers on both sides about the activity around the crime scene immediately after the alleged murder.

Nancy Kissel, 40, who is out on bail, is accused of serving her husband, Merril Lynch banker Robert Kissel, a milkshake laced with sedatives which left him unconscious at the foot of their bed before bludgeoning him to death with a heavy metal ornament on the night of November 2, 2003.

The prosecution alleges she was having an affair with a television repairman living in a trailer park near the Kissels' Vermont residence in the United States.

Kissel's decomposing body was found wrapped in an old rug in the couple's Parkview storeroom on the night of November 7.

The accused said at the time her husband was drunk and had beaten her up after she refused to have sex with him.

Last Monday, the High Court heard that Robert Kissel suspected his wife was poisoning his Scotch whisky two months before his death. Frank Shea, the owner of the private investigating company, Alpha Group Investigations, testified that when Kissel called him in late August 2003, ``he was quite upset. He expressed concern that his wife was trying to kill him.''

Shea advised him to contact the police and his lawyers and to gather samples of hair, blood, urine and a vial of the Scotch. But Robert never went through with the advice because ``he felt guilty about his suspicions,'' Shea said.

During cross-examination, defense counsel, Gary Plowman SC, suggested that Kissel had not submitted the samples as he knew they might test positive for cocaine.

Last Tuesday, the High Court heard that former Parkview neighbor, Andrew Tanzer, was left drifting in and out of consciousness, acting like a baby, devouring ice cream and awakening the next morning with ``something like amnesia'' after drinking a milkshake served by the accused.

Tanzer said the milkshake ``was a kind of strange milkshake, fairly heavy, sweet, thickened, with banana taste and crushed cookies.''

It was reddish in color, probably from strawberry flavoring, he said.

Family lawyer, Sharon Ser, said last Tuesday Robert Kissel had mentioned his wife had ``issues'' and low self-esteem. When Kissel asked his wife not to continue working as a volunteer for the Hong Kong International School fair, ``she was upset that he didn't want her to do it.''

Her former law partner also appeared in court to confirm he had notes saying Mrs Kissel suffered from depression.

Last Wednesday, the court saw the accused, who had previously shown no visible sign of emotion, break down in tears after a friend mouthed some words of comfort and offered a supportive wave as she left the court, having been asked to testify as a prosecution witness.

Samantha Kriegel told the jury the accused had said to her she was ``dealing with issues about Rob's health,'' days after the prosecution alleged Mrs Kissel had murdered her husband. Kriegel said the accused was devoted to children, creative and intelligent.

On Thursday, Macaraeg testified that Mrs Kissel was a person ``who could not forgive'' and would ``hate you'' if you made a mistake. She said the youngest son had noticed a foul smelling odor as he held the door open to let the removal men transport the old rug out of the apartment into the storeroom.

She identified the white nylon rope used to bind the rug containing the corpse as the one she had bought under the instruction of the accused. The alleged murder weapon, a heavy metal ornament comprising two figurines the size of a clenched fist, were displayed to the court and inspected by the jury and the judge.

albert.wong@singtaonewscorp.com