BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (AP) A pre-arrest interview with a man accused of killing his wife and burying her in their yard can be admitted at trial, a judge has ruled.

Prosecutors have described the interview as key to their first-degree murder case against Chuck Garrison, 58. His wife, Sharon Garrison, 49, was found buried in the couple’s yard last October.

Attorney Mark Johnson intends to defend Garrison with a heat-of-passion or self-defense plea.

The motion on the interview was one of several District Judge Terry Ruckriegle heard Monday.

In agreeing to allow the interview at trial, Ruckriegle ruled that the interview was consensual and that Garrison could have left at any time.

Johnson also argued for a motion to bar Sharon Garrison’s family members from the courtroom. He said the relatives were potential witnesses in the case and that they also were involved in a civil case surrounding the eventual breakup of the estate.

Ruckriegle denied the motion but said he might reconsider if the court discusses something that might influence the family members’ testimony.

Another hearing will be held Aug. 13, when Johnson plans to argue for a change of venue.

Garrison is being held in the Summit County Jail.