There’s another major delay in the trial of the Orchard Park man accused of killing and beheading his wife. The murder trial for Muzzammil Hassan was scheduled to begin next week, but on Friday an Erie County Judge pushed the trial back to January to give the prosecution time to respond to some last minute evidence introduced by Hassan's defense. YNN's Kevin Jolly reports.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- It might be seen as a small victory for the defense and a minor setback for the prosecution. Friday, Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franczyk ruled that experts will be allowed to testify on behalf of Muzzammil Hassan, the Orchard Park man accused of killing and decapitating his wife in February 2009.

Hassan’s lawyers claim he suffered from battered spouse syndrome at the time of his wife's murder.

"We will be allowed to have our doctor testify and she will be allowed to testify specifically to her evaluation of Mo and her diagnosis of him having battered spouse syndrome," said Hassan’s attorney Julie Atti Rogers.

Atti Rogers and co-counsel Jeremy Schwartz say the crux of their defense lies in the testimony of experts and the hundred or so e-mails that prove their client suffered from years of verbal, physical and emotional abuse leading up to his wife Aasiya Zubair's murder.

Hassan has never admitted to killing his wife.

“The e-mails outline specific details of the abuse that Mr. Hassan alleges he was the victim of. There are also many e-mails where he reaches out to mental health counselors as I stated in court today and to other professionals, families and friends where he was looking for help for the abuse," said Atti Rogers.

However, with the jury selection originally scheduled to begin next week, Erie County prosecutor Coleen Curtin Gable said they never received that evidence, "We were told today that sometime between now and jury selection that we were finally going to receive hundreds of documents relating to this defense documents we've been demanding for months."

Judge Franczyk agreed with the prosecution. Franczyk ruled that he would allow the expert testimony and e-mail evidence with the condition the prosecution has a chance to review those e-mails and have their own expert mental evaluation of Hassan.

"The people will have the full opportunity to examine Hassan by their expert and I expect he will be fully cooperative because if he’s not, I'm not going to permit the defense to go forward with expert testimony at all," said Judge Franczyk.

Hassan’s trial is adjourned until January 10.