Two witnesses who met Donald Gower before his wife's July 4, 2007 slaying testified Tuesday during Gower's capital murder trial that he talked about having his wife killed.

John Robert Martinez, who remains in custody on a capital murder charge in connection with Mrs. Gower's death, testified that Gower met with him and Jeremiah Ellison -- who also was arrested on a capital murder charge -- in March of 2007 to hire a shooter.

Martinez, Gower and Ellison met at Boston's restaurant in Killeen for a drug deal, Martinez testified. Before the meeting, Ellison had told Martinez that Gower wanted to have Mrs. Gower murdered.

At the March meeting at Boston's, Gower offered Martinez $25,000 to kill Mrs. Gower and said he either would make payments or give Martinez drugs as remuneration, Martinez testified. Gower told Martinez the money would come from a life insurance policy he had taken out on Mrs. Gower.

Gower also told Martinez his wife worked at an Alltel store in Temple, and the defendant told Martinez Mrs. Gower's name and what times she arrived at and left work.

The men eventually left the restaurant and continued discussing murder plans later that night at Martinez's apartment in Harker Heights, Martinez stated in court.

Regina Edwards, who lived with and was engaged to Gower before he decided to marry Hidi Easton, testified that Gower talked occasionally of killing himself, his father, one of his father's neighbors and Mrs. Gower. During cross-examination by Gower's court-appointed attorney, John Galligan of Belton, however, Ms. Edwards said she never knew if Gower was coherent when he discussed acts of violence.

Gower drank alcohol heavily, took several powerful medications -- often taking double doses by mistake -- to cope with back pain resulting from surgeries and described himself as bipolar, Ms. Edwards testified. Ms. Edwards said she considered her former fiance's talk of killing his wife "babbling."

"If I had taken him seriously I would have said something," Ms. Edwards said.

When questioned by prosecutor Larry Allison, Lampasas County District Attorney, Martinez said although Gower consumed alcohol during the meeting at Boston's, the defendant seemed completely sober and was serious about the murder-for-hire plan.

"He looked pretty focused on it," Martinez said.

Ms. Edwards was arrested July 9, 2007, but 27th Judicial District Judge Joe Carroll dismissed her case after determining she did not promote or assist in the offense.

Martinez also testified that Gower met him later in March 2007 at a 7-Eleven gas station on Willow Springs Road in Killeen and gave him a white envelope containing $250, which Martinez was to use to purchase a revolver for the murder.

Ashely Edwards, who was with her brother, her mother -- Regina Edwards -- and Gower at the gas station, testified that in a red pickup she saw Ellison and a passenger she could not identify. Miss Edwards said she saw Gower slide a white envelope to Ellison and guessed that it contained money.

"Why else would he hide it?" Miss Edwards said.

Gower, a sergeant first class in the U.S. Army, sat calmly in the district courtroom Monday and Tuesday, clad in his green Army dress uniform.

Galligan said Tuesday after the jury recessed for the day that he did not know if his client would take the witness stand.

If convicted, the defendant faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.