NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Shifting their focus from crime to alleged cover-up, prosecutors at the trial of a nurse accused of murdering her husband showed jurors Monday a handwritten list they say demonstrates a panicked attempt by the defendant to frame her sister-in-law.

The two-page note with the words "set her up" scrawled across the top was part of a package sent by Federal Express to the prosecutor investigating Melanie McGuire for the 2004 murder and dismemberment of her husband, William.

The package, which arrived in October 2005 as a grand jury prepared to indict McGuire, purported to be mailed anonymously by a co-worker of the victim's sister, who had come across the list in the office trash and found it disturbing.

"Please understand that I do not in any way wish to involve myself in this situation, but the contents of the ziplock [sic] bag frighten me," a one-page letter accompanying the note read.

The prosecutor who received the package and is trying the case in state Superior Court, Assistant Attorney General Patricia Prezioso, read the list as she questioned a detective who tried to determine its source.

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Prosecutors have said the 34-year-old defendant made several attempts to throw suspicion elsewhere, including writing a letter in the persona of a tough-talking mobster who claimed to have seen someone else kill William McGuire.

In addition to a first-degree murder count, she faces charges of hindering prosecution related to the letters.

McGuire, a well-respected fertility clinic nurse, insists she is innocent, and her lawyers have said her husband's death may have been tied to gambling debts.

Although the list never specifically mentions McGuire or her husband, it clearly refers to his 2004 murder and the case investigators were building against his wife. Among five points enumerated under the words "set her up" were "deny that we knew about firearm or that he made her get her one."

McGuire bought a gun two days before her husband went missing. It has never been recovered. She claims that her husband, a felon who was legally prohibited from purchasing a weapon, asked her to buy it for protection as the family prepared to move to a more rural area.

Another point on this list is "deny that he used to move the car when they fought sometimes." McGuire claims that after her husband left her, she went to Atlantic City to find him. When she couldn't find him, she located his car and reparked it in another motel, she told authorities.

The list also mentions the couple's two sons, who were 2 and 4 at the time of the murder. The victim's sister, Cindy Ligosh, was awarded custody of the children.

The list concludes, "Have kids say they saw her do it and/or dispose of the body."

A second page entitled "final stages" appears to be a to-do list with bullet points that include "termination of her parental rights" and "speak to publisher re: story rights."

The prosecutor noted that the letter with the list was addressed to "Madam Assistant Attorney General" — the same phrase McGuire used to refer to Prezioso in a phone conversation with a friend secretly recorded by police.

The detective who tried to trace the package's origin, state police Sgt. Jeff Kronenfeld, testified that the American Express gift card used to pay for the shipping was purchased at a Rite Aide pharmacy and surveillance tape from a neighboring store showed a woman resembling the defendant in the parking lot near the time of the card's purchase.