Visalia man on trial for killing wife takes stand for second day

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Visalia man on trial for his wife's murder seven years ago took the stand again on Thursday in his own defense.

One day earlier, Terry Geller testified he did not murder his wife, Tena, calling the 2007 shooting an accident.

Prosecutor Brenda Broker on Thursday took out the .357 revolver that Geller used to shoot his wife back in 2007. Broker asked Geller how he thought it accidentally went off.

"You picked up the gun. What'd you first do," Broker asked.

"Out of the drawer? I opened the cylinder," Geller responded.

During cross examination, Geller insisted he was only trying to clean his gun when it accidentally went off. The shooting happened while Geller sat on the edge of his bed. The single shot penetrated a closed bathroom door where his wife, Tena Geller, was on the toilet and hit her in the neck.

On Thursday, Tena Geller's sister, Frankie Johnson, defended her brother-in-law, saying their marriage was happy.

"I believe that was the love of his life, always will be," said Johnson.

Prosecutors disagree. Attorney Brenda Broker told jurors instead of coming to her aid after he shot her, Terry Geller opened the door, saw her lying on the floor and then made a nine-minute call to his parents. She demonstrated how long nine minutes is by setting off an alarm nine minutes into her closing arguments.

"So that's nine minutes that's passed," said Broker. "That's how long after he shot and killed Tena Geller she's still on the toilet. That nine minutes is how long he talked to his parents in Oklahoma. That's a pretty long time."

Broker argued that Terry Geller didn't have any blood on him when police eventually arrived to the house, showing he barely touched her after he shot her.

On Friday, both attorneys are expected to finish closing arguments, at which point the jury will begin deliberating Geller's fate.