Mark Lange will not take the stand in his defence at his and Dean Boucher's second-degree murder trial in the 2004 death of Robert Olson.

Nor will he call any witnesses, his defence lawyer, Andre Roothman, said in Yukon Supreme Court this morning as the evidence portion of the trial came to a close.

Lange, 30, and Boucher, 33, are both charged with the murder.

The eight women and four men of the jury will hear closing arguments from lawyers in the case Monday and then return Wednesday when Justice Leigh Gower is scheduled to charge the jury.

On Dec. 27, 2004 Olson's body was found in the Wolf Creek subdivision. His death was determined to be three days earlier on Christmas Eve.

Lange's decision not to take the stand comes after two days of evidence for Boucher's case.

In addition to Boucher taking the stand, court heard Wednesday from Lange's ex-partner, Pamela Jim.

She told the court she didn't believe Lange when he told her he had killed someone.

Lange called her house on Dec. 24, 2004 to wish their daughter a Merry Christmas. During that call he told Jim he had 'fóóóup.'

When she asked him if he had ripped someone off, he said it was worse than that.

Sarcastically, she asked if he had killed someone.

'He said yeah',' she told the court.

He said it was in self-defence and that some guy had held a knife to his throat.

Under cross-examination by Roothman, she agreed he could have said he had a knife at his throat as a figure of speech.

In the phone calls that followed from Lange, Jim was told he could run in the 'shadow of the ninja', which she thought meant he could leave and escape down south and stay. He also said he was 'scared s---less'.

At one point Lange asked her to call a couple of lawyers in Vancouver and explain it was in self-defence. He brought her a phone card to do so, she said.

She told him that if it was in self-defence he shouldn't run.

By Dec. 28, 2004 Jim decided to contact police and gave a statement the next day.

Less than a month later after Lange had turned himself into police and was in custody, she wrote a letter to him, speaking of him being pinned for something.

She said she was praying he would get out of jail soon and that he would smarten up so he could have a future as their child's father. Jim was now living her half of their dream with two kids and a future, she told him.

Their daughter now understands that bad people go to jail, Jim wrote. Their daughter also understands that she has a step-dad, but doesn't have an understanding of a biological father. When she asks about that, Jim wrote, she will let her know.

The letter also tells Lange that Jim went to police and that she wasn't sure how he will feel about that. It sounded as if the Crown prosecutors were soon going to cut ties between witnesses, but she told them Lange had a right to his daughter, she stated in the letter.

Finally, Jim tells Lange that if he has a chance at a future he should get it right this time.

On the stand, Jim said Lange had been given many chances to have that father/daughter bond, but she got tired of giving him those chances.

Since writing the letter, she told the courtroom, she's had a lot of time to think and doesn't believe Lange has a right to know how their daughter is doing because he hasn't taken on the responsibility of fatherhood.

He would often go out drinking with his friends instead of coming through on his promises, she told the court.

Over the years, she stopped telling their daughter of the empty promises Lange would make for his daughter.

Jim and Lange were together as a couple from 1996 until February 2000.

At the beginning of their relationship they had taken martial arts classes together, but it was more Lange's interest, she said.

Lange was also known as Little Ninja Man because of his martial arts background. In 1996, he had a yellow belt in one of the martial arts, though she could not recall which one.

At one point, Lange told her he was going to Edmonton for a year to study martial arts, but he didn't come back to the territory for about three years.

Lange's former ninjitsu instructor, Rick Blackburn of Whitehorse, was also called to take the stand as part of Boucher's defence case.

The club operated for about a decade until a couple of years ago, with Lange as a student off and on for six to eight years.

Students were instructed on kicking and punching techniques as well as submission holds, Blackburn told the court.

'We just informally studied martial arts in general,' he said, after noting that the techniques studied could be learned anywhere through books as well.

Lange had worked up to a green belt and Blackburn thought his physical abilities merited a higher standing but he had concerns about Lange's personal life that he hoped the student would mature through, he said.

It was another sensei from Outside who came up to grade the students.

'I thought he had superior coordination,' Blackburn said.

Depending on his opponent's skill, Lange likely could have taken down someone larger, he said.

Under cross-examination by Roothman, Blackburn also noted there is a mental component, and as a student becomes more skilled, there is often more restraint practiced as well.

Earlier in the trial, Boucher had described Lange as 'going ninja' on Olson in a fight at Olson's Caribou Hotel on Dec. 23, 2004. Boucher stopped the fight and put Olson in the recovery position, the co-accused told the court.

He said he doesn't remember putting Olson's body in the truck, but didn't deny that he did. He also doesn't remember the body being put in the snowbank in Wolf Creek, although he didn't deny evidence in that either.

He testified that he lied in his statements to police because he didn't want to be labelled a rat in giving up Lange's name and that he was still in shock.

Since turning himself in to police on Dec. 27, 2004 he's had six death threats, he told the court under cross-examination yesterday.

Both Roothman and Crown prosecutor John Phelps pointed to differences in his testimony and police statements.

While Boucher gave his explanation over and over again, Phelps noted parts of his police statements remained consistent until he took the stand. He also pointed out many parts he lied about didn't have anything to do with being a rat.

'There's repercussions, John,' Boucher told Phelps.

It wasn't until he took the stand, Phelps said, that Boucher said there wasn't an intention to take Olson's truck.

'I was trying to help my little ninja,' Boucher explained, adding he was going to take the blame for taking the truck, but now that he knows Lange's 'true colours', he won't take anything for him.

Boucher, who continued to hold an eagle feather through his cross-examination and even this morning as he sat next to his defence lawyer, insisted it was Lange who was adamant about taking Olson's truck because Boucher knew if he tried to take it, he would be clubbed as Lange was.

The issue of using the truck caused the fight, which lasted from a minute to 1 1/2 minutes between Lange and Olson, Boucher told the jury.

Also, it was only after Boucher's charge was changed from accessory after the fact to second-degree murder that the weapon used by Olson was mentioned.

On the stand, Boucher insisted he heard Lange get hit with some sort of wooden object by Olson.

'I heard it connect,' he said.

It wasn't until he noticed bubbles coming out of Olson's mouth that he physically lifted Lange away from Olson and put Olson in a recovery position so he could breathe again.

'I got him breathing, me alone, nobody else,' said Boucher.

Boucher said his actions will help him get a reduced sentence.

'I know mine will be reduced because I stopped it (and took police to the body),' he said.

After turning himself in, Boucher tried to help RCMP find the body. It was a general duty police officer who eventually located Olson's body in Wolf Creek.

When Phelps put it to him that he was telling the truth in his police statements, Boucher said the Crown prosecutor was wrong.

Both Phelps and Roothman brought up Boucher's criminal record which includes a sexual assault and an assault conviction, along with other convictions for breaching probation and mischief.

While Boucher acknowledged his record, he insisted the sexual assault is a wrongful conviction that he is in the process of appealing.

After both were in custody at Whitehorse Correctional Centre, it appears he and Lange were trying to communicate with each other, a recreation officer at the jail told the court.

Laurie Stewart said messages were written on various parts of the yard, which he suspected were between Lange and Boucher based on the relationship between them.

One such message written on a picnic table which Stewart believes was directed at Boucher by Lange referred to 'Rat' and 'Murderer'.

Paraphrasing what he saw Boucher write, he said the message referred directly to Mark and stated: 'You should look after your own soul. I will pray for you.'

Stewart also noted he didn't have problems with either inmate and doesn't have knowledge of their behaviour in cells.