OAKLAND, Calif. -- After months of testimony, including 10 days of Hans Reiser appearing in his own defense on the witness stand, one of the Bay Area's most-watched murder cases since the trial of Scott Peterson was handed off to jurors Tuesday.

Following a morning in which prosecutor Paul Hora attempted to punch holes in defense attorney William Du Bois' closing statements, Alameda Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman gave standard murder case instructions to the 12-member jury on their four choices of a verdict to the charges that Hans Reiser murdered his estranged wife, Nina, in September 2006.

The panel has the option of not guilty; first-degree murder carrying a 25-to-life sentence; second-degree murder which carries a 15-to-life term or voluntary manslaughter which carries a maximum 11-year term.

During his rebuttal Tuesday, Hora dismissed the defense contention that Nina Reiser was alive and hiding in Russia or Eastern Europe.

"We know Nina's life ended on Sept. 3, 2006…Nina would have never left her kids up for grabs like that…If you look at all the circumstances in her life, it's crystal clear," Hora told the packed courtroom as he stood near large easels with two poster boards on them listing evidence against Hans Reiser.

The only real drama of the morning took place late in the rebuttal when Reiser again had another loud outburst in the courtroom.

With Hora debunking Reiser's explanation for removing and disposing of a seat of his CRX -- the defendant has claimed he did so because of lingering injuries from breaking his ankles while working out at a gym in France -- Reiser became angered.

He yelled out -- "Want me to show you the scars?"

Goodman told Reiser to be quiet and Hora continued on.

Hora wrapped up his lengthy rebuttal by telling the jury there was just one choice in their deliberations -- "This was murder. I ask that you find him guilty of first-degree murder."

In the third day of his closing argument in the marathon murder trial, Du Bois on Monday told jurors that Nina, who was born and educated in Russia, "has contacts around the world" and "has lived most of her life in Europe."

Nina's mother and son both testified that they haven't had any contact with Nina since she disappeared and prosecutor Paul Hora put on the witness stand many witnesses who testified that Nina would never leave her two children.

But Du Bois said, "I submit that the mantra that she would never leave her children does not apply" because they wound up living with Nina's mother in St. Petersburg, Russia, so at least they're in the care of her family.

Hora told jurors in his closing argument last week that proving that Nina is dead is one of his three essential tasks in Hans Reiser's trial, along with proving that Hans killed her and that it was murder.

Nina Reiser, who was 31 when she disappeared after dropping off her children at Hans' house in the Oakland hills, met Hans in Russia, where she was trained as a physician and where he often spent time doing business for his computer file system company.

They married in 1999, but she filed for divorce and separated from him in 2004. Although Nina was awarded legal custody of their children, Hans had visitation rights.

Nina's body has never been found, but Hora says that circumstantial evidence as well as blood and DNA evidence proves that Hans killed her.