The fate of a man accused of killing a Kelowna, B.C., student 18 years ago is now in the hands of a jury.

Jennifer Cusworth was sexually assaulted and murdered after a house party in 1993.

Neil Snelson, the churchgoing father-of-four accused in her slaying, has testified that he had sex with Cusworth in his truck the night she died.

But Snelson maintains he did not cause her death.

Snelson initially told investigators he had never met the 19-year-old, although he was later linked to the teen through DNA evidence.

Cusworth's body was found dumped in a ditch on Oct. 16, 1993. She had been strangled and also beaten repeatedly with a blunt object.

Crown prosecutors argued that Snelson abducted the teen as she walked home from the party.

Snelson wasn't charged with the murder until 2009, after the DNA evidence emerged. He has no previous criminal record.