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CANTON, Ohio - Without denying that James Mammone killed his 3- and 5-year-old children and his mother-in-law last June, defense attorneys for the Canton man seemed more interested in using cross-examination of his ex-wife to try to explain his motives.

Defense attorney Tammi Johnson asked her client's ex-wife, Marcia Eakin, whether she was aware when they married that Mammone was an "anti-divorce" person, someone who felt it was "unacceptable" to have children in a home without both parents being there.

The couple divorced in April 2009 after a separation during which Eakin got a restraining order against her ex-husband.

Eakin earlier testified that she "went along" with her ex-husband having a visitation schedule that allowed him to have the two children for overnight stays.

On June 7, 2009, while the children were with Mammone, Eakin says she started getting troubling text messages from her former husband, asking her to meet them.

She testified that Mammone eventually texted her that he had pain killers which he was storing "for this night I had hoped would never happen," adding, "I am ready to die."

Police found Mammone outside of his Canton apartment with the bodies of his two children strapped in seats in the back of his car, their throats slashed.

They also discovered the body of Eakin's mother inside her Canton home. Margaret Eakin, 57, had been shot and beaten to death.

In opening statements, defense attorney Derek Lowry told jurors he would not be contesting much of the evidence or the facts during the trial.

Mammone has entered not guilty pleas to charges that include aggravated murder. He faces the possibility of the death sentence if he is convicted.

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The first witness called in the death penalty trial of James Mammone was his former wife, Marcia Eakin, 30 -- the woman prosecutors allege Mammone was attempting to hurt by killing their two young children and her mother last June.

Eakin wept on the witness stand when she was asked about their two children -- Macy, 5, who was born in 2004, and James, 3, who was born in 2006. She testified that she was seeking a master's degree while she was expecting her second child and Mammone was working long hours to support them.

Eakin testified that she realized their marriage was troubled in June 2007. Mammone, she said, was not able to help much with the children, so she depended on her mother for help. She testified in August 2007 that Mammone broke her cell phone after she tried to discuss ending the marriage with him.

She testified that they stayed together and sought counseling both individually and together. Mammone, she said, quit his job when she tried to leave and started school in January 2008 to become a teacher so they would have the same schedule. He also started working for a pizza restaurant.

She testified that Mammone told her if she tried to leave "he would kill me and the children." The following Monday, she said she called a lawyer and asked about filing for divorce. It was a conversation she said she kept hidden from her former husband.

Eakin testified her plan was that she and her mother would take the kids in June 2008 to visit family in Newark, and while they were away, James would be served the divorce papers. She testified that she wanted to be gone because "I wanted to be safe with my children."

She said the plan never materialized because her attorney called her cell phone while she was at home and Mammone demanded to know who called. She says he grabbed the phone and returned the call, discovering it was from an attorney. He then reminded her that if she ever tried to leave him, he was going to kill her. She testified Mammone then told the children "it was time for mommy to go to her grave."

After that incident, Eakin testified that she sought a restraining order in which Mammone was not to have contact with her at all and was supposed to have only supervised contact with the children. The divorce at the time was not yet final.