WAUKESHA, Wis. — Former Green Bay Packer Mark Chmura didn't take the stand at his sexual assault trial. But his wife Lynda did. And what the jurors saw was a self-assured woman who has never doubted the man she's known since she was seven years old.

As her name was called to testify on behalf of her husband on the last day of the defense's case, the petite woman, confidently turned out in a blue pinstripe pantsuit and lavender shirt, gracefully walked up to the witness stand — staring down at her shoes instead of the hushed crowd around her — and told a tale of what life is like with her 31-year-old husband.

Lynda Chmura, small diamond earrings sparkling beneath her brown hair spiked with blonde highlights, spoke candidly about the love she and her husband share and the faith they have in each other. The 5-foot-4-inch woman seemed to charm the jurors. They listened intently to every word.

She told a packed house at the Waukesha County Courthouse Friday morning that she has been married to the defendant for eight and a half years, although the two have known each other since second grade. The couple has two young children, ages six and four. They hire babysitters both when they go out and sometimes when they are home entertaining friends.

The alleged victim, Allison, now 18, was one of those sitters. She testified Monday that Chmura treated his wife poorly, that he would stick her with the children and go out with his friends. When questioned about these statements by defense lawyer Gerald Boyle, Lynda Chmura said the contrary.

"I've never been mistreated by my husband," she replied sternly yet sincerely.

She indicated, in fact, that she keeps him in line. When Boyle asked her if Mark Chmura wrote the checks to pay Allison for her babysitter services, his wife said, "No, he didn't. I don't think he knows how to write a check."

Chmura sat erect like a soldier, the way he has throughout the course of the trial, which kicked off with opening statements 12 days ago. He is charged with third-degree sexual assault and enticement of a minor and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. But his case seems to have strengthened significantly since the defense started its presentation on Wednesday.

Michael Kleber, a high school football player at Memorial Catholic High School, testified Thursday that Allison swore to him nothing happened between her and the 31-year-old former tight end during an April 9, 2000, prom party at the home of Chmura's friend Robert Gessert. Kleber was touted as the star witness for the defense, and on the stand, he seemed to garner sympathy from the jury. The 6-foot-3-inch, 275-pound Kleber sat slump-shouldered and spoke softly, extending a courtesy to both Boyle and District Attorney Paul Bucher that had not been extended to them by other testifying teens: he said "Yes, sir" after every direct question.

"I swear on my life. I swear on my parents' life. I swear on the Holy Bible. I didn't do anything," the husky high school senior testified Allison, then 17, told him when he prodded her for information about what happened inside Gessert's bathroom, where Allison claims Chmura raped her.

Lynda Chmura's testimony followed an hour and a half of forensic expert testimony. Susan Noll, James Oehldrich and Ronald Witucki of the Wisconsin Crime Lab all said they analyzed materials taken from the crime scene and from the Sexual Assault Treatment Center, where Allison was examined. They studied blood that was drawn from Allison, towels from the Gessert bathroom, swabs used to extract DNA from Allison's vagina and pubic hairs. They all testified to finding no traces of semen or Chmura's DNA.

In contrast to this technical, tedious testimony, Lynda Chmura's was refreshing for the courtroom. Boyle asked her if this case has hurt her relationship with her husband.

"Your marriage is solid, Mrs. Chmura?" Boyle asked as District Attorney Paul Bucher stood up to object.

"Like a rock," she answered over the objection.

During cross-examination, Bucher grilled her about various places her husband had been to determine if she was always aware of his whereabouts. She said she hadn't known about many of those incidents, but it didn't bother her at all because she trusted him.

"I'm aware of a lot of rumors," she admitted under cross-examination when Bucher asked if she were aware that Allison told people Chmura had, "a baby with a babysitter."

Also testifying Friday morning was Marry McMurray, a freelance employee for Forensic Associates. McMurray is an expert at determining a person's blood alcohol contact by factoring in body weight, drinking experience, drinking volume and other small details like how much they've eaten, when, and if their bodies digest food quickly or slowly.

McMurray testified that, given a person of Allison's body weight and drinking experience, at the time of the alleged assault, 5 a.m., would have a blood alcohol contact of 0.15 to 0.20, almost double the legal limit in the state of Wisconsin. She was then showed a picture of Allison taken at the after-prom party. In that picture, Allison was holding a glass with a mixture of vodka and Mountain Dew, the drink of choice for the teens that night.

The glass appeared to be a 12oz.Allison had said that she had four of these glasses, filled half with vodka and half with Mountain Dew, making her gross consumption of vodka to be about 24 oz. Bridgett Boyle, daughter of the defense lawyer and co-counsel, questioned McMurray about whether Allison would be able to drink what she testified to having consumed.

"There's no way," McMurray testified.

McMurray's testimony seems to have figured into Boyle's two-pronged plan of defense. First, he counted heavily on the testimony of Kleber. And Kleber shined in a way no other teen present at that party was able to on the stand. He spoke eloquently and had detailed recall despite allegations by Allison that he was very drunk that night.

Second, Boyle attempted to cast doubt on Allison's credibility. By calling these experts to the stand, all of whom testified that Allison could not have consumed the quantities of alcohol she said she did, Boyle implied that she is dishonest; if she could lie about that, then she could lie about the assault.

The jury seems to have taken a liking to Boyle. While his daughter was questioning an expert, Boyle was coming in and out of the courtroom. He also whispered with several people in the gallery. As Boyle moved, even though he didn't formally have the floor, the jury watched him.

Boyle's style was more like a cross-examiner when he called two police witnesses to the stand later in the afternoon. Officer Stephanie Bennett and Investigator Jeffrey Noennig, both of whom had questioned Allison about the alleged assault, testified that the girl's account of what happened remained consistent.

Bennett gave some insight into Allison's demeanor when she first reported the alleged assault to police.

"It's a very traumatic thing what happened to her. She had a lot of things to think about," she said.

According to the female officer, the girl even predicted the media circus that was to come.

"She knew it wouldn't just be reporting it to police and prosecutors," Bennett said. "She knew it would become a bigger event."

When pressed by Boyle to explain some discrepancies about the length of time the assault took, Bennett seemingly defended Chmura's accuser.

"Its been my experience that when people are relating a sex assault they often can be inconsistent," she said. "Time can flow very quickly without even realizing it or move very slowly. To some people it may seem like hours and for others it seems very quick because they are in a state of shock."

Noennig said that the officers' concerns about the underage partygoers drinking were because of the effect alcohol would have on their memories in the course of the assault investigation, not because they sought to issue the teens summonses.

"If they claimed they had been drinking they would not be cited," he said.

"That's been overruled by the district attorney," Boyle said, referring to Bucher. Though no citations have yet been issued, Bucher reportedly said he may still pursue charges against the teen drinkers.

After Noennig stepped down from the stand as the defense's last witness, Chmura said his only public words in court so far — to decline his opportunity to take the stand.

Bucher then presented the first of three rebuttal witnesses, medical expert Dr. Judy Guinn who works with sexually abused children at Wisconsin Children's Hospital.

In an attempt by the prosecution to neutralize testimony from defense experts, Guinn testified the injuries Allison showed in her vaginal area were among the most common suffered by sexual assault victims.

"The medical findings and the history are consistent with sexual assault," she testified.

But on a rigorous cross-examination by Boyle, Guinn admitted that the average age of the children she examines is 9 and that of the cases in which she previously testified as an expert, the oldest victim was under 10.

Testimony from two more rebuttal witnesses is expected Saturday.