MORRISTOWN -- A former Morris County teacher, accused of shooting her ex-policeman boyfriend to death in her Mount Olive home, repeatedly asked law enforcement officers about his condition as they attempted to question her in the hours after the incident.

"Can't you tell me if Patrick's okay?" Virginia Vertetis asks on a 90-minute version of an interrogation that was played Monday during a pre-trial hearing in Superior Court.

Matthew Potter, a detective supervisor for the Morris County Prosecutor's Office, replied that he couldn't talk to her about the victim Patrick Gilhuley unless she waived her right to an attorney and talked to police.

Vertetis, now 54, said she didn't feel "comfortable" talking without an attorney present.

Vertetis, who taught fourth grade in Wharton, repeatedly refused to waive that right during a 13-hour video-recorded session at the Mount Olive police station and police didn't tell her Gilhuley was dead, even though they were aware he had died.

That exchange emerged as a central issue Monday during a pre-trial hearing as Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano seeks permission to use Vertetis' statements in her upcoming murder trial.

Even though Vertetis never consented to a formal interrogation, she made a number of voluntary statements to police during the course of the 13 hours, Troiano pointed out.

Vertetis is accused of murder in the March 3, 2014 shooting death of Gilhuley, 51, a retired New York City policeman who lived on Staten Island.

When Vertetis called 911 that evening, she said she had shot an intruder she believed was breaking into the house, according to attorneys involved in the case. She said she had not been expecting a visitor that night.

However, Vertetis is now taking the position that she acted in self-defense against a boyfriend who had been repeatedly beating her.

Vertetis initially told police she shot someone she believed was an intruder because she was afraid they would "sympathize" with the former policeman, said her attorney, Edward Bilinkas.

However, at various points during the conversation, a frequently weeping Vertetis volunteered information, saying at one point, "You don't know anything about what happened. You don't know how he is."

Officers did not respond. She also repeatedly asked to have pictures taken of her arms, which her attorney said were bruised at the hands of Gilhuley, and a sheriff's officer did eventually take the picture.

At another point, Vertetis said, "I just want to die."

Bilinkas is seeking to dismiss the statements on grounds that they weren't voluntary, because the investigators were withholding information about Gilhuley's condition to force Vertetis into talking.

Cross-examining Detective Potter, Bilinkas asked, "You attempted to use that concern to cajole her into waiving her rights, correct?"

Potter replied, "I wouldn't use the term 'cajole'. I was attempting to obtain information."

Bilinkas also questioned the way the prosecutor chose to condense the recording. Many things Veretetis said that would work in the defense's favor were contained in a written transcript, but were redacted from the recording, Bilinkas charged.

For example, with no one else in the room, Vertetis said, apparently speaking to the absent Gilhuley, "Why did you have to hit me and beat me like that?" Bilinkas said.

Troiano, the assistant prosecutor, called that statement "self-serving," pointing out that no one else was present when she said it.

Judge Stephen Taylor is expected to rule in the next several weeks on whether the statements may be used. He scheduled the next court date in the case for Aug. 15. The case is expected to go to trial in October.

Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.