Deliberations begin in Jayson Williams case

The illness of a prosecuting attorney delayed the summations, which were originally scheduled for April 22.

The 12 members of the jury heard each other’s views on the case after receiving instructions on the law from state Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman.

They retired for the day after deliberating for nearly five hours, and will return Wednesday morning.

Williams is facing multiple charges, including aggravated manslaughter, in the shooting death of limousine driver Costas "Gus" Christofi on February 14, 2002. He faces 55 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

Nearly two weeks ago, Coleman rejected a defense argument to dismiss all charges due to an evidence dispute. The defense claimed prosecutors intentionally withheld evidence, a charge the prosecution denied.

Williams’ defense team was seeking a mistrial over the dispute, which started when the prosecution said it had discovered photos and notes from its weapons expert that it was obligated to disclose to the defense months ago.

Meanwhile, evidence about Williams’ shotgun was key to the defense, which asserted that the gun misfired when Williams snapped it shut while showing his mansion to friends.

The 36-year-old Williams is accused of recklessly handling the gun that killed Christofi and then trying to make the shooting look self-inflicted. Williams told all the guests that they must agree the shooting was a suicide, and he wanted them to lie to police.

Two witnesses eventually reached a deal with prosecutors to testify against Williams to avoid charges of tampering with evidence and lying to investigators.

The 6-foot-10 Williams spent nine years in the NBA, averaging 7.3 points and 7.5 rebounds. His career ended in 1999 when he broke his right leg and injured his right knee.