A man accused of murdering his wife today tried to paint a rosy picture of family life, saying he had no reason to harm her.

"I had no reason to hurt Margaret, she never hurt me. I learnt Maltese with her help," Nizar El-Gadi told jurors yesterday during the third week of his trial.

He is accused of killing Margaret Mifsud, who is survived by their two children, who are both minors.

Dr Mifsud was found dead in her car in a lay-by in Bahar ic-Caghaq on 19 April 2012.

Challenging the happy picture painted by the defendant, the prosecution pointed out that on the very day of her murder, Dr Mifsud sent him a text message saying "stop harassing me because you are breaking the law."

"She trusted me with her bank cards. If she thought I was a bad person would not trust me with these things,” Mr El-Gadi insisted.

Asked why Dr Mifsud called him a "horrible man" in an e-mail, Mr El-Gadi replied, "I do not know what she wrote. If she lied only God knows now."

The prosecution picked apart Mr El-Gadi's version of events on the night of the murder, during which he claims there was a short tryst between himself and Dr Mifsud outside of her house before she went out for a night with work colleagues.

Text message logs show that Dr Mifsud left her house at 8:10pm. She arrived in Bugibba at 8:30pm where she met a friend.

Mr El-Gadi himself admitted that by 8:01pm he had not yet met Dr Mifsud, and was unable to explain how long the tryst lasted.

"I would be lying if I told you how long it took, it would be on my conscience if I lie. I will be cursed if I lie. Only I and God know what I did," Mr El-Gadi said.

Faced with the testimony of DNA expert Marisa Cassar, who explained that there was more of Mr El-Gadi's DNA on Dr Mifsud's nails than her own, Mr El-Gadi said Dr Mifsud liked playing with his hair, and went on to describe himself as a "hairy boy."

Last Thursday, forensic pathologist Mario Scerri testified that Dr Mifsud trusted her aggressor since no signs were found that she resisted him even though her aggressor pinned her down and sat on her chest.

Questioned about the morning after the murder, Mr El-Gadi said he did not know about her death and only heard about it from his lawyer.

Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi is presiding.