MOUNT HOLLY — Prosecutors say a New Jersey woman was digging a grave for her slain wife when police arrived at their home.

A Burlington County jury heard opening statements Thursday on charges against Laura Bluestein in the 2017 death of her wife, Felicia Dormans, NJ Advance Media reported.

The charges include murder and tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors said Dormans' death was intentional and that she was shot in the face, but defense attorney Robin Lord argued it was an accident.

Assistant Prosecutor Jeremy Lackey said police went to the township home for a wellness check and discovered Bluestein with blood on her arm, Dormans on a tarp with a gunshot wound and the “beginning of a grave.”

“She took her wife’s body, put it on a blue tarp, and went out to dig a grave,” Lackey said.

Dormans' family told NJ Advance Media the couple planned to split up around the time of the shooting.

Lord said that her client's actions after the shooting were that of a person in panic, and “someone who just didn’t know what to do.”

The trial was to continue on Friday.

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