NSW jury retires at 1997 murder trial

A jury will resume its deliberations on Tuesday at the Sydney trial of a bouncer accused of murdering his teenage wife 20 years ago.

Steve Frank Fesus, 46, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jodie Fesus, 18, in August 1997 at their Shellharbour home on the NSW south coast, before burying her body in a shallow grave at Seven Mile Beach, near Gerroa.

Soon after the August 7 start of the NSW Supreme Court trial, a juror was discharged due to ill health.

The remaining 11 jurors retired to consider their verdict on Thursday morning.

But Justice Peter Johnson sent them home hours later after a juror informed the court of a sudden and serious family health issue.

As Monday is a public holiday, the jury will resume on Tuesday.