LEBANON, Ohio -- Testimony resumed Wednesday in the trial of a former police office accused of taking part in his wife's death.

Jim Barton was a police officer in 1995 when he went into his Franklin Township home and found his wife, Vickie, dead. Prosecutors said Barton hired a man by the name of Will Phelps to burglarize the home.

Investigators said Barton thought the burglary would scare his wife and she would move to Springboro, where he reportedly wanted to become police chief. Authorities said five months after Vickie's death, Phelps killed himself.

According to investigators, Phelps and an unknown person sexually assaulted Vickie Barton and killed here.

Barton retired from the Springboro Police Department after investigators charged him. He denies he had anything to do with his wife's death.

IMAGES: Jim Barton -- New Photos Added!