LAS VEGAS — Thursday's testimony in the murder trial of Margaret Rudin was as dry as the blood stains it concerned.

For six hours, jurors listened as forensic analysts investigating the fatal shooting of Rudin's millionaire husband described in detail how they discovered, documented and tested red "blood-like" stains in the socialite's bedroom. With the meticulous accounts, the prosecution laid the groundwork for DNA experts to testify that the stains matched Ron Rudin's blood.

But even the witnesses acknowledged the material they covered was less than thrilling.

"You stayed awake this long," remarked crime scene analyst Michael Perkins, sounding relieved, to the panel at the close of the day.

Even Rudin, who is facing 15 years in prison for allegedly killing her husband to get at his $11 million fortune, seemed to tire, putting her head down on the defense table during a mid-afternoon break.

In January 1995, after Ron Rudin's charred remains were discovered in the desert, Perkins and a team of other analysts spent 11 hours executing a search at the couple's home. Perkins testified that seven of those hours were spent on the master bedroom, where police believe Rudin shot her husband as he slept.

In the month that her husband had been missing, Margaret Rudin had transformed the bedroom into a home office. When crime scene analysts moved the furniture and pulled up the rug, they found about 15 reddish-brown drops speckling the walls and ceiling on the south end of the room. Initial tests showed they had the characteristics of blood, Perkins said.

For more thorough evaluations, including DNA testing, samples of the stains from the bedroom were sent to two private labs, according to Linda Errichetto, director of the police forensic lab. A technician from one of those private labs is scheduled to testify Friday.

The defense, which will cross-examine Perkins Friday morning, suggested the samples might have been contaminated as analysts examined and catalogued them. Errichetto said she found this unlikely.

"I would agree an item could be contaminated, but I wouldn't agree that just by touching an item you would automatically contaminate it," she said.

Under prodding by defense attorney Tom Pitaro, she acknowledged there was no way to know how long the stains had been on the walls and fixtures of the bedroom, nor whether they occurred at one time or many different times.

Prominent defense lawyer John Momot officially joined Rudin's defense team Thursday. He sat next to Rudin at the same table where last spring he defended Sandy Murphy, the stripper convicted of murdering her casino mogul boyfriend Ted Binion. Judge Joseph Bonaventure, who presided over that trial, welcomed Momot into the case over the objections of prosecutor Chris Owens, who argued that Momot, who is working pro bono, was a potential witness in the case, having represented Rudin in 1995.