BARNSTABLE, Mass. — Jurors deliberating the case of a garbage collector accused of the rape and murder of writer Christa Worthington asked the judge Friday to clarify the meaning of "reasonable doubt."

The panel of seven women and five men have been deliberating since Tuesday afternoon in the case of Christopher McCowen, who is accused of killing Worthington in her Cape Cod cottage while her toddler daughter was in the home.

A note from the panel to Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson read, "What is the legal definition for beyond a reasonable doubt? What is the parameters for which beyond reasonable doubt would apply?"

Being careful not to create issues that could be raised on appeal, Nickerson read a boilerplate legal explanation. He reminded jurors that the prosecution has the burden of proving MCowen guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; the state does not have to prove him guilty beyond all doubt, but must establish an "abiding conviction to a moral certainty that the charge is true."

McCowen, 34, denies stabbing Worthington but admits he had sex with her two days before she was killed. When McCowen was arrested and interrogated last year, he told state police that he had consensual sex with Worthington and was present when a friend, Jeremy Frazier, stabbed her.

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"It is not enough for the Commonwealth to establish a probability, and a strong probability, that the defendant is more likely to be guilty than not guilty," Nickerson said. "That is not enough."

The jury's note was the first on any substantive issue since members got the case on Tuesday afternoon.

If jurors find McCowen guilty of first-degree murder, he would face life in prison without parole.

The verdict will be streamed live on Court TV Extra.