HANFORD -- Jurors will hear closing arguments today in the murder trial of Dave Hawk, whose ex-wife disappeared three years ago.
Debbie Hawk's body has never been found.
Prosecutor Larry Crouch said outside Kings County Superior Court on Monday that investigators built a strong case by quickly identifying Dave Hawk as "the person who had a motive" to kill Debbie Hawk.
Debbie Hawk had questioned her ex-husband's use of their three children's trust accounts.
Dave Hawk, 51, of Lemoore was charged in mid-2007 with embezzlement in connection with the trust accounts and was awaiting trial in that case when he was arrested in May 2008 in connection with the murder of his ex-wife.
The murder and embezzlement charges are being tried together.
Debbie Hawk's blood was found in her north Hanford home by her three children on June 13, 2006.
She was missing, along with her van and purse. Her abandoned van was found in Fresno.
Based on evidence in her home and van, police in July 2006 reclassified the missing person's case as a murder investigation.
Neither Dave Hawk's fingerprints nor his DNA were found in his ex-wife's home or van.
Hawk's attorney, Mark Coleman, said no physical evidence was presented during 10 days of testimony that linked his client to Debbie Hawk's disappearance.
"It didn't show in any way, place or form that Dave was responsible," Coleman said.
A defense expert who examined evidence in the case was the last witness to testify.
On Monday, Bill Lehman, a retired law enforcement officer, said documents on the children's trust fund scattered in Debbie Hawk's home office should have been processed for fingerprints. Under cross-examination by prosecutor Shane Burns, Lehman also said he found no evidence that anyone besides Dave Hawk would have profited from his ex-wife's disappearance.
Lehman agreed with Burns that Debbie Hawk's disappearance and murder appeared to be premeditated and planned.
Jurors will begin deliberations after today's closing arguments and jury instructions.
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