Leslie and Charles Buck had assets worth more than $1.2 million when Mrs. Buck died suddenly in May 2002.

She was an avid shopper who looked forward to monthly meetings of the Alpha Delta Kappa teacher's sorority because it gave her an opportunity to get dressed up, according to her friends. But Mrs. Buck was a bargain hunter and a saver, her friends said. She was debt-free when she died.

"She loved to get things on sale," retired schoolteacher Judith Barber testified Friday in New London Superior Court. "She was very good with money. She was excellent with money."

Buck, who followed his father into the electrical business and inherited the family home and business, spent more liberally than his wife did, and that sometimes caused friction in the marriage, according to court testimony.

The 63-year-old Mystic man is charged with killing Leslie Buck on May 2, 2002, and is on trial in New London Superior Court. In the months before and after his wife's death, according to testimony, Buck spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a younger woman, buying her cars, electronics, a 2.5 carat engagement ring and paying for her knee surgery.

In August of that year, as police were investigating his wife's death and Buck's apparent obsession with bartender Carol Perez - now known as Carol Stephens - Buck paid $235,000 in cash for a raised ranch on Roberts Road in Westbrook, according to testimony. Sarah Marcinek from Caldwell Banker handled the real estate transaction for Perez.

"There had to be extra monies at the closing," Marcinek testified. "Charlie brought $1,000 in cash and Carol contributed, I believe it was 12 cents."

Mystic lawyer Deborah J. Tedford, executor of Mrs. Buck's estate, testified that Mrs. Buck's estate was valued at between $1.2 million and $1.7 million. Stonington's probate judge appointed Tedford to administer the estate because Charlie Buck, the named executor, was under a cloud of suspicion after Leslie Buck's sudden death. The estate has brought a wrongful death lawsuit against Buck, and the civil court case is on hold until the criminal case is resolved.

According to estate documents prepared by Tedford, the Bucks together owned real estate appraised at more than $750,000 along with bank accounts, certificates of deposit and stocks. Mrs. Buck had contributed $235,000 to a teacher retirement fund, and the account was disbursed to her husband upon her death.

She had a $57,000 double indemnity life insurance policy through Stonington Public Schools. Such a policy pays out twice the amount if the death is accidental. In Mrs. Buck's case, the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner could not determine the manner of death.

Tedford said that Charlie Buck is the beneficiary, and that the proceeds have not yet been distributed.