LONDON, Ont. - The trial of a man accused of killing Victoria Stafford won't sit Tuesday in London, Ont., because one of the lawyers is ill.

Superior Court Judge Thomas Heeney told jurors that Michael Rafferty's lawyer Dirk Derstine is sick with the flu.

Rafferty has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, sexual assault causing bodily harm and kidnapping.

The court was supposed to hear Tuesday from forensic experts about DNA and other testing that was done on several items seized from Rafferty's car.

"We're getting into a very important area of the evidence and Mr. Rafferty should have his lead counsel here for that," Heeney told the jury.

The trial is set to resume Wednesday with the forensic testimony.

Rafferty and his then-girlfriend Terri-Lynne McClintic, who confessed and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, allegedly abducted eight-year-old Tori in Rafferty's car three years ago and killed her in a farmer's field.

Tori disappeared outside her Woodstock, Ont., elementary school in April 2009, and the jury has heard she was killed later that day.

McClintic is serving a life sentence.

She initially told police she abducted Tori at Rafferty's urging, and that he then raped and killed the girl.

However, McClintic recently testified at Rafferty's trial that it was she who used a hammer to kill Tori.

On Sunday, Tori's family spent a quiet day marking the third anniversary of her disappearance.

Her father and his family paid a visit to Tori's grave, as they have been most days throughout the trial.