SOMERVILLE, N.J. — Jayson Williams informed a judge Wednesday morning that he will not take the witness stand in his own defense at his manslaughter trial.

"I understand my rights. On the advice of my counsel, I will not testify. I am innocent. I put my trust in God, and I have great confidence in this jury," the former NBA star said as he stood before Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman.

Asked whether his decision was influenced by anything other than the advice of his counsel, a standard question for defendants choosing not to testify, the 6-foot-10 athlete smiled slightly and replied, "Just my wife, your honor."

Tanya Young Williams, an attorney who is nine months pregnant with the couple's second child, sat a few feet behind her husband in the front row of the courtroom.

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Shortly after Williams' announcement, the defense formally rested its case in front of the jury. Williams, dressed in a black suit and pink tie, appeared somber as he rose to watch jurors file out of the courtroom.

His decision not to testify reflects an apparent change in the defense strategy. In his opening statement Feb. 10, defense lawyer Billy Martin promised jurors Williams himself would explain the shooting of driver Costas Christofi.

"Jayson Williams will tell you what happened that night. Jayson Williams will tell you how this horrific, totally unforeseeable accident occurred," Martin said. He repeatedly prefaced evidence he said jurors would hear during the trial with the phrase "Jayson will tell you ..."

Coleman said he will instruct jurors that Williams has a Constitutional right not to testify and that they cannot hold his decision against him. Prosecutors are prohibited from mentioning Martin's promises about Williams in their summations, which are expected early next week.

A turn on the witness stand would have exposed Williams to a grueling cross-examination. Prosecutors likely would have attempted to question him about prior brushes with guns, incidents that the jury would not learn of otherwise.

Prosecutors also could have forced him to hold the 12-gauge shotgun that killed Christofi and demonstrate how he was handling it when it fired. He would have had to answer difficult questions about a coverup that followed the shooting. Witness after witness told jurors that Williams tried to stage the death scene to look like a suicide and ordered them to lie to police.

Prosecutors plan to mount a rebuttal case Thursday morning. An engineer from the Browning Arms company, the manufacturer of the Citori shotgun used in the shooting, has been in court watching defense witnesses and will likely testify for the prosecution.

Williams, 36, a one-time All-Star for the New Jersey Nets, claims debris in the inner workings of the Citori caused it to misfire. His three-day case focused intently on alleged problems with the gun, and two of his five witnesses were gun experts.

Prosecutors say toying with the loaded weapon while several houseguests stood nearby is reckless behavior. They are seeking convictions against him on aggravated manslaughter and seven other charges that could mean 55 years in prison.

Just before Williams rested, a defense attorney used enlarged photographs of the death scene to highlight one of the defense's main allegations: that eyewitness testimony is contradictory. Nine men testified about the shooting (chart), and some differed on Williams' handling of the gun, whether he cursed at the victim, and the whereabouts of the other houseguests.

Defense attorney Joseph Hayden Jr. put the photos of Williams' master bedroom alongside diagrams sketched by the witnesses. He was not permitted to talk to jurors during the display, but the defense is expected to argue during summations that the diagrams and photos indicate some witnesses lied.

Also Wednesday, the defense asked Coleman to dismiss three of the counts against Williams because of contradictory witness statements. Coleman denied the motion to drop aggravated manslaughter, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and fabricating evidence.

"They decide who to believe and what to believe," the judge said.

Testimony resumes Thursday morning.