NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — On their second day of deliberations, jurors in Melanie McGuire's murder trial focused on a split second of grainy footage from a parking-lot surveillance camera.

The video the panel requested for review is a key piece of evidence against McGuire in three of the less serious counts she faces: hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence and drug possession. The top charge of the eight is first-degree murder.

Prosecutors contend the Oct. 9, 2005, video from outside a Rite Aid pharmacy in Passaic, N.J., shows McGuire preparing to send an anonymous letter and several other items to authorities in an attempt to cast blame for her husband's death on her sister-in-law.

The jury of nine women and three men were brought into the courtroom to screen the video Thursday morning after sending a note to state Superior Court Judge Frederick DeVesa.

In the black-and-white video, a slight figure quickly crosses the bottom corner of the camera frame. Prosecutors argue it shows McGuire entering the pharmacy to buy the gift card used to pay for the shipping charges on the anonymous package.

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In her closing argument, a lawyer for the government said the letter and a second one sent two months earlier contained information that only William McGuire's killer would know.

The defense argued that the video was too blurry to make an identification.

After watching the clip once, one woman on the panel waved her index finger in a circle, indicating she wanted to see it again, and another female panelist whispered to a court officer, who then relayed a message to DeVesa.

"The jury has requested to pause the video when the female that is depicted enters the video," the judge said.

A prosecution aide complied, and the two women stared intently at the frozen image. The rest of the panel sat impassively until DeVesa asked if those sitting toward the far end of the jury box wanted to approach as, he said, they had indicated in a note.

The panelist sitting farthest away, a middle-aged man in a blue fleece jacket, rose and took about five steps toward the screen. He peered at the figure for a moment and then returned to his seat.

In a second letter accompanying the video request, jurors asked whether the final count on their jury form, the drug possession charge, was related to the charge of hindering prosecution. DeVesa told them the charge was related to the prescription medication Xanax included in the package.

The panelists then returned to the jury room, filing past McGuire, 34, at the defense table.

She looked closely at the video as it was played. She spent much of the day in a small conference room in the courthouse reserved for the defense.

William McGuire, 39, was last seen alive April 28, 2004. The next month, his remains were found in three suitcases in the Chesapeake Bay. He had been shot to death.

Jurors are to resume deliberations at noon Friday. The verdict will be streamed live on Court TV Extra.