BATH, N.Y. (AP) — Jury deliberations are set to begin in the trial of a former professional hockey player charged in the murder-for-hire slaying of his wife at the couple's rural New York home in 2015.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys made their closing statements Tuesday in Steuben County Court, where 45-year-old Thomas Clayton has been on trial on first- and second-degree murder charges.

Authorities say he hired Michael Beard to kill his 35-year-old wife Kelley in late September 2015 at the couple's home in Caton, on the Pennsylvania border. Beard was convicted of murder last November.

Clayton's defense says he had nothing to do with his wife's slaying.

Clayton was a former hockey star at Niagara University who went on to play professionally for the Elmira Jackals.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations Thursday.

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