NORWICH – The prosecution in the third trial of twice convicted and alleged murderer Peter M. Wlasiuk called a total of seven witnesses to the stand Thursday, following opening statements by Chenango County District Attorney Joseph McBride and attorney for the defense, Mark Loughran.

Wlasiuk, formerly of Oxford, was first charged with second degree murder in 2002, accused of killing his wife, Patricia, and staging a Guilford Lake accident in an effort to cover up the crime. He has twice been convicted – in 2003 and 2008 – sentenced to serve 25 years to life in state prison.

Both convictions, however, were overturned on appeal, in 2006 and 2011, respectively.

In his opening statement, McBride called the case against Wlasiuk a simple one. Wlasiuk’s motives, he added, consisted of an unhappy marriage, another woman, and more than $300,000 in life insurance. Jurors, said McBride, will hear testimony that will include an alleged eyewitness who saw Wlasiuk strike Patricia and threaten to kill her.

The evidence, he added, is substantial.

The prosecution alleges that Wlasiuk – who told authorities he and his wife had swerved to miss a deer before veering into Guilford Lake along County Road 35, an accident McBride said was staged – killed Patricia at their New Virginia Road home; loaded her body into the back of his pick-up truck; and drove to the lake, where he then rolled the truck into the frigid waters through the only opening located on that side of the lake.