SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — Twenty years after the suspicious 1994 death of his new wife, a nuclear engineer is on trial in Southern California on charges of murder and insurance fraud.

Prosecutors have said they didn’t think they had enough evidence to try Paul Curry of Orange County until a 2007 re-investigation led to a new scientific report.

During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutors told jurors that Linda Curry was poisoned with a lethal injection of nicotine. Curry’s attorney argued that Linda Curry had a history of serious gastrointestinal problems.

The prosecution says Paul Curry, who was 37 then, collected more than a half-million dollars in life insurance and other benefits. In fact, he started asking for payments the day after her funeral.