Jacqueline Weiner and son cry during testimony

For a case filled with emotionally charged issues, the trail of Jacqueline Weiner, 39, of Belmont, has been remarkably placid.

That all changed yesterday as two family members showed strong emotions and — at the end of the court day — the defense surprised onlookers by introducing a letter into evidence that sounded suspiciously like a suicide note that was written by Mrs. Weiner.

Read by Jacqueline Colburn, one of Weiner's attorneys, the letter was found on the table of the Weiner's Concord Street home when Belmont Police executed a search warrant last October 13. Much of it was unintelligible, but what Colburn read seemed to portray a woman who was desperate and grieving.

"You're my only (something)," the letter began. "They ruined my first two marriages… They ruined my third marriage… (Something) physical beatings…They hated me… I (expletive) up. Tell my children I love them."

Earlier in the day, one of Wiener's 13-year-old son broke down crying on the witness stand. While he was testifying, Weiner dabbed her eye with a tissue and, when she stood up for a recess, she stumbled and nearly fell. Members of her defense team sat her in a chair while she got her equilibrium back.

Wiener is on trial in Belknap County Superior Court for allegedly stabbing, biting and scratching her 10-year-old son at their Belmont home last September 20. Police say Wiener assaulted her son while her husband, Steven Weiner, held the youngster down and added injuries of his own. She is facing three charges of second-degree assault and one of simple assault.

Last month, the boys' stepfather, Steven Weiner, 49, was convicted of two felony assaults charges for his role in the incident. He is currently incarcerated at the Belknap County jail, awaiting sentencing.

The 10-year-old boy testified earlier this week, and much of Thursday's court proceedings were taken up by testimony from his 13-year-old brother, who was also in the house the night of the alleged attack. The older boy was dressed neatly, in a white shirt and tie, and a vest. He wore black-and-white sneakers and took off a blue blazer before he took the stand.

His mother, sitting at the defense table, wore a green dress and a long brown sweater. Her platinum blond hair was pulled back in a bun.

Since the trial began on Monday, Mrs. Weiner has maintained a mostly stoic posture. She has sat silently between her two defense attorneys, occasionally making a comment to one of them or jotting down a note on the yellow pad of paper in front of her. During breaks, she can sometimes be seen walking outside the building smoking a cigarette. But she has avoided eye contact with people and rarely spoken to anyone except members of her defense team. No members of her family have appeared to show any support.

Some changes could be seen on Weiner on Wednesday when she walked towards a bathroom holding her stomach. Court officials said that she was not feeling well.

On the stand, the older boy talked about joining his younger brother outside the home to avoid his parents. He talked about later being discovered by Mr. Weiner, then watching the adult carry the 10-year-old back into the house by his ankle and wrist while the child flailed around and yelled, "They're going to kill me!"

He described how his brother was made to lie face down on the living-room floor, and how his mother made the 13-year-old come downstairs and tell his younger sibling that "he had ruined my life."

He talked about unsuccessfully trying to make a sound recording of the bizarre scene: his brother crying and making choking sounds while his mother and stepfather shouted and yelled.

Finally, the boy described running downstairs and seeing his mother stabbing his brother with a steak knife. Then, grabbing a wireless phone from the kitchen, he ran outside and called 911.

It was when a member of the defense team asked the 13-year-old about some possessions his mother inherited from his grandmother that the youngster broke down in tears.

"It's hard to talk about my grandmother," he said, wiping his eyes.

It was only about 45 minutes after the defense team asks for a recess, apparently because Mrs. Weiner was not feeling well.

The trial is scheduled to resume on Monday at 9 a.m.