A California housewife claims that she acted in self-defense when she fatally stabbed her husband, a man who had been her therapist when she was a teenager.

But prosecutors say that Susan Polk planned the violent death of Felix Polk to put an end to a bitter divorce and custody battle.

Polk, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 13, 2002, death of her 70-year-old husband in a cottage on the couple's $2 million estate in Orinda, Calif. Her trial is expected to begin Tuesday in a Martinez courtroom.

The body of Felix Polk, a prominent psychologist, was found the day after the stabbing by the youngest of the couple's three sons.

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Susan Polk initially denied knowing anything about her husband's death, but later changed her story.

She now claims that Felix Polk attacked her with a paring knife because he could not bear the thought that she was finally taking steps to end their 20-year marriage and what she claims was a relationship based on domination, manipulation and abuse.

Polk says she kicked Felix hard in the groin, got control of the knife and stabbed him five or six times during a struggle.

"At the end, he stood up and he said, 'Oh my God, I think I'm dead,'" she told the Associated Press in a jailhouse interview.

Susan Polk, who gave an interview Aug. 16, 2005, at the West County Detention Center in Richmond, Calif., claims the killing was self-defense.

Defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, who stepped in to represent Polk two months ago when she abandoned plans to defend herself, said jurors will learn about much more than the violent confrontation and death of Felix Polk. To truly understand what happened in the cottage, jurors must hear about the couple's bizarre relationship, which began nearly 30 years ago, Horowitz said.

Susan Bolling, then 15, was sent to Felix Polk, then 40, first for an evaluation, and subsequently for therapy. She wasn't going to school regularly and her family and school counselors were concerned. Within a year, however, the doctor-patient relationship changed, and Susan began having a sexual relationship with the married father of two, according to the defense.

Polk divorced his wife and married Susan in 1982. The defense says Felix Polk was a domineering, manipulative husband who was obsessed with controlling Susan's life. The defense has already received the court's permission to put on evidence that Felix Polk was hospitalized for a year in 1955 for schizophrenia and psychotic behavior.

"It is really going to focus on that he was a 42-year-old man taking advantage of a 15-year-old girl — emotionally, personally and sexually," Horowitz said.

Prosecutors, who have not discussed the case with the media, could not be reached for comment.

At the time of the stabbing, Susan Polk was living in Montana and had just learned that a California judge had awarded Felix Polk custody of their only underage son, 15-year-old Gabriel. Susan Polk claims she went to see her husband to talk about the divorce, the children and other issues, but the conversation quickly escalated into an argument and fight.

To be found guilty by reason of self-defense, Susan Polk will have to convince the jury of six women and six men that she feared for her life and defended herself against a potentially deadly assault.

Prosecutors are expected to argue that it was Felix Polk who long feared his wife, as a number of his friends told reporters covering the case for San Francisco-area newspapers.

Opening statements are scheduled for Tuesday morning, followed by a jury view of the Polks' estate. The trial is expected to last six weeks.

If convicted, Susan Polk faces 25 years to life in prison.