Margaret Rudin was at her antique shop until about midnight the night her millionaire husband was last seen, testified a friend who said she spent several hours with her the night of Dec. 18, 1994.

Recalled to the stand by the defense after previously testifying for the prosecution, Jeanne Nakashima also said that she never saw the trunk prosecutors claim Rudin used to dispose of the murdered real estate mogul's body.

During their meeting that began around 9:00 p.m., Nakashima said that Rudin confided in her that her husband Ron never came home that night.

Nakashima said she comforted Rudin, citing her experiences with her own husband, who would go away for days without telling her but would eventually return.

Nakashima also told Rudin then that, when her 22-year-old son disappeared, Las Vegas police told her she couldn't report him missing for 48 hours. Margaret Rudin didn't officially report her husband missing for two days, a fact prosecutors say shows her lack of concern.

Tuesday's testimony came a day after lawyers sparred over whether Nakashima could be called by the defense as an alibi witness. While defense lawyers said that Nakashima was never intended to provide an alibi since the time Ron Rudin was killed was never pinpointed, prosecutors objected to her testimony, claiming that the defense never gave them 10 days' notice as required by law.

Although Judge Joseph Bonaventure ruled Monday that the defense should have filed the notice, he allowed Nakashima to resume testimony after determining that she would not function as an alibi witness.

Nakashima had previously testified as a prosecution witness, but she and prosecutor Chris Owens seemed at cross purposes Tuesday. At one point, Owens asked her whether she had discussed the case with the defendant.

Nakshima responded yes, but said they did not talk about specific testimony. Her slow, monotone reply prompted Owens to ask if her answer was rehearsed.

Nakashima denied it, firing back, "I'm reading your mind."

"Can you read the next question?" Owens shot back.

Nakashima, who characterized Margaret Rudin as a good friend, claimed that the widow appeared "pale and tired" on Christmas, a week after Rudin's disappearance.

But she conceded that, in a photo taken on Christmas, the smiling ash blonde did not appear worried.

Owens also attempted to debunk Nakashima's assertion that she didn't see a trunk in the antique shop by showing her a photograph taken the day of the grand opening depicting what prosecutors believe is a trunk in the background.

Nakashima claimed not to remember seeing it.

Further bolstering the defense's contention that Rudin had no trunk readily accessible was the testimony of Marvin Eikenberry, a part-time employee of the antique shop.

Eikenberry also said that he never saw a trunk in the shop, and added that the antique in the photograph appeared to be a chest.

Eikenberry

"It doesn't look like a trunk to me," he said.

Also testifying was another friend of Margaret Rudin, Barbara Orcutt, who said that Margaret Rudin called her following Ron Rudin's disappearance. Although not permitted to say what Rudin told her, the witness was prodded by defense lawyer John Momot to explain what actions she took based on that conversation.

Implying that Margaret Rudin reached out for help to search for her missing husband, Orcutt said that she commissioned a wrangler who worked for her to lead a two-day search for the missing millionaire.

Also taking the stand was the rental car manager that rented a van to Yehuda Sharon — the defendant's alleged lover and the man police believe helped her dispose of Ron Rudin's body. Sharon rented the van the night Rudin disappeared.

Maria Romano, general manager of US Rental Car, testified that Sharon rented a Chevrolet Cavalier on Dec. 18, 1994, trading it in the next day for a Chevrolet Astro van and keeping that vehicle for four days.

According to Romano, the van was returned in clean condition with 348 miles on it.

Romano

On cross-examination, prosecutor Gary Guymon brought out that the route Sharon claims he traveled on a business trip exceeded the mileage reflected on the odometer by 11 miles — implying that Sharon was not truthful about his whereabouts.

Romano also testified that Sharon, a holy oil salesman, told her that he was using it to move a piece of furniture, contradicting Sharon's testimony that he used the van to transport holy water.

Among the other witnesses testifying on the second day of the defense's case was Eric Hall, the former stepfather of Augustine Lovato, the Rudins' handyman who testified for the prosecution. Lovato, hired to remove the bedroom carpet in the Rudins' home, testified he saw a substance that looked like dried blood under the bedroom carpet. Hall testified that Lovato's mother, Terry Hall, who was also a prosecution witness, had talked with him about a $25,000 reward posted while Ron Rudin was missing.

But Hall ultimately may have helped bolster the prosecution's case, testifying on cross-examination that Lovato never seemed excited about the reward and that his ex-wife only mentioned the reward to him after her son came forward and spoke to police.