mordant wit

A prosecutor put on a black leather mask and re-enacted a bondage session Friday at a dominatrix's manslaughter trial, telling the jury the woman did nothing to help her client when he suffered a heart attack.

Prosecutor Robert Nelson also dumped a box of hoods, collars and paddles onto a table during his closing arguments, declaring that 56-year-old Barbara Asher was trying to protect her business and "that's why she didn't call the police."

The jury deliberated for about four hours on Friday before being sent home until Monday morning.

Asher, who called herself Mistress Lauren M, is charged with manslaughter and dismemberment in Michael Lord's death.

Lord, a 53-year-old retired telephone company worker from North Hampton, N.H., died in 2000 while strapped to a replica of a medieval torture device in Asher's Quincy condominium, according to police. His body was never found.