SAN DIEGO — The mother of a young Marine who mysteriously died from alleged arsenic poisoning five years ago stared coldly at her daughter-in-law, Cynthia Sommer, as she took the stand Thursday at Sommer's murder trial.

Yvonne Sommer did not receive an acknowledgement or eye contact when she pointed to the defendant after being asked to identify her daughter-in-law in court.

Sommer, an attractive, 33-year-old brunette, was busy writing notes on a yellow legal pad.

Sommer faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the 2002 arsenic poisoning death of her husband, Sgt. Todd Sommer. She claims she was deeply in love with the victim — and that his death has cost her more than his VA benefits could ever make up for.

Both of Todd's parents appeared somber and slightly fragile on the stand Thursday.

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Todd Sommer was 20 when he met and fell in love with the defendant in 1999.

Todd's mother told jurors she was concerned about her only son's rush to marriage after just six months of dating. Cynthia was 25 at the time and had three children from a previous marriage.

But she grew to love Cynthia, and delighted in the birth of a grandson they named Christian.

"In the beginning, we had a very good relationship. She was my son's wife. I wanted to love her. I wanted to care about her children," Yvonne said. "I know that they were happy. They seemed to be happy. Todd loved the children."

But Yvonne and her husband, Mitchell Sommer, both testified Thursday that the young couple had money troubles and were not living within their means.

They drained the balance of Todd's trust fund, about $29,000, inside three years of marriage. Mitchell Sommer said he lent the couple about $9,000, and made a down payment on their minivan, co-signing the car loan because their credit was inadequate.

"Occasionally, Todd would say they didn't have enough money for food for the kids," Todd's mother recalled.

She broke down in tears when asked to recount the phone calls she received from Cynthia Sommer on Feb. 18, 2002, when she learned Todd was being rushed to the hospital after collapsing in the couple's home.

"They couldn't bring Todd back," his mother said, her chin quivering. "He was dead."

Prosecutors claim Sommer killed her Marine husband for his VA benefits — including more than $250,000 in life insurance — to go on shopping sprees and pay for the breast implant surgery she had two months after Todd died.