ELKHORN, Wis. (AP) -- Perry Tarica's affair with Julie Jensen lasted only a weekend, but he said the unexpected encounter confirmed his feelings for his co-worker.

Tarica testified this week in the murder trial of Julie Jensen's husband, Mark. She had told police to look at her husband if anything happened to her.

"I feel very strongly about the Julie that I knew," Tarica testified Thursday. "I would say that, yes, I loved her. And I would have helped her in any way, if she needed help."

Julie Jensen, 40, was found dead in the couple's Pleasant Prairie home in 1998. Mark Jensen, now 48, was charged with first-degree murder in 2002, but legal wrangling over the admissibility of evidence delayed his trial until now.

Tarica testified partly to refute claims from Mark Jensen's attorney that he made hang-up calls and sent pornographic pictures to the Jensens. Prosecutors and police have claimed Mark Jensen was responsible for the harassment.

Tarica, a stock broker, said his relationship with Julie Jensen started in 1990 or 1991 when she worked as another broker's assistant at Dean Witter. Sometime in 1991, he went to dinner at her home while Mark Jensen was away.

He testified he was surprised, but open, to her invitation to spend the night. She abruptly ended their relationship after that.

Tarica said he contacted Julie Jensen once after that, when he learned she was being harassed. He did it out of friendship and concern, he testified, but admitted that he received a ticket for the letter.

He never paid the ticket and said the district attorney had promised to take care of the matter if he testified.

Police officer Ron Kosman testified that he spent years responding to harassment complaints from the Jensens. He said he suspected Mark Jensen was responsible but never had proof.

Kosman last talked to Julie on Nov. 24, 1998. He said he yelled at her because she told her husband about a phone tap. Kosman had hoped to use the tap to rule out Mark Jensen as a suspect in the harassment case.

But Julie Jensen didn't want to keep any more secrets from her husband because she still felt guilty about her affair, Kosman said.

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Information from: Kenosha News, http://www.kenoshanews.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)