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The instruments of death used to kill Tanoan resident James Hogan were household things: clear plastic bags, duct tape, granite tile and a wooden table leg.

Jurors on Thursday saw each one, most of them stained in blood and all of them, prosecutors say, connecting Ernest Jose Gallegos to the macabre bludgeoning death on the night of Aug. 24, 2004.

Gallegos' attorney, Mark Earnest, attempted to cast doubt on that premise in the courtroom of District Judge Neil Candelaria, suggesting that the methods in which each item had been handled could have cross-contaminated them.

Albuquerque police forensics Detective Denise Herrera brushed off those attempts, saying that evidence was handled carefully and by the book.

Among the items Herrera showed jurors was a mask of bloody plastic and duct tape, which she explained had been wrapped around Hogan's head, leaving the crown of his head bare but lacerated and bloodied by blunt-force trauma.

Jurors were also shown bloodstained chunks of thick, black-and-green granite tile. Prosecutors say the tile may have been slammed into Hogan's skull and face.

Photos showed Hogan, 57, lying in a pool of blood, curled on his side in a semi-fetal position in the garage of his exclusive gated community home, a sheet or towel partly obscuring his body. Plastic zip ties and nylon rope bound his wrists and ankles so tightly that autopsy photos showed deep indents in his skin once they were removed.

Also visible were what appeared to be a bite mark on Hogan's right hand and a bruise, possibly from the wooden table leg, on his back.

Blood was found on the bottom of his socks, indicating that Hogan had walked through blood on the floor.

Blood was also spattered on the ceiling, on and inside the Hogans' two vehicles, on a pair of black gloves found in a duffle bag and left atop a Tanoan perimeter fence, and on a gray tank top and blue polo shirt found in Gallegos' white Chevy S-10 pickup truck.

Albuquerque police had spotted the truck that night parked on Academy Road Northeast just outside the Tanoan perimeter fence and about 710 feet from the Hogans' home at 11300 Woodmar Lane N.E.

Herrera also showed jurors a black ski mask and noted that hair had been found inside. Prosecutors said in opening arguments that DNA from the hair was a match to Gallegos. Fluids on the gloves matched both Gallegos and Hogan, they said.

One juror submitted a note to the judge asking whether Gallegos could try on the gloves in court, reminiscent of the infamous moment in the O.J. Simpson murder trial 11 years ago.

But Gallegos' attorney objected, saying doing so would be tantamount to his client testifying.

The judge denied the request.

Prosecutors say Gallegos had been in the Hogan home six weeks before the slaying to install a mirror during a remodeling job. He may have held a grudge against Hogan either over an incident involving a watch stolen during the remodeling or because of a district attorney's badge he found in the garage safe. The badge had belonged to Hogan's wife, Carole, a former prosecutor in California.

Carole Hogan testified Tuesday that a dark-clad intruder wearing a ski mask and holding a club in one hand and a gun in the other bound them and covered their eyes with duct tape, repeatedly threatened to kill them and brought James Hogan into the garage because he could not open a safe there.

Gallegos, whose lengthy criminal history includes several charges of robbery, is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and three other charges.

Prosecutors were expected to wind up their portion of the trial today with testimony from the state Office of the Medical Investigator and the lead detective in the case.

The defense will then present its case, but Gallegos is not expected to take the stand.