Jurors hear final arguments in "Desperate Housewives" trial

(CBS/AP) The "Desperate Housewives" trial started coming to a close Wednesday, as jurors were urged to award Nicollette Sheridan millions of dollars in her wrongful termination case after her attorneys alleged her bosses on the show lied and conspired against the actress.

Sheridan's lawyer Mark Baute accused several witnesses of lying when they said the decision to kill Sheridan's character Edie Britt was made four months before the actress accused show creator Marc Cherry of striking her on the set.

Cherry and others testified that the death of Britt had had been decided during the earliest planning stages of the fifth season.

Baute, however, claimed the move came as retaliation for Sheridan's complaints about being hit hard in the head.

"You don't make decisions on killing one of your top five actresses early," Baute said. "It's a game-day decision. You wait."

Cherry testified during the two-week trial that he merely tapped the actress to give her artistic direction.

Adam Levin, lead attorney for Cherry and ABC, said during his closing argument that the actress and her counsel were resorting to desperate theories.

"Desperate is claiming that 10 good citizens of California conspired to get their story straight," Levin said.

He said the theory involved a "complicated story of conspiracy, perjuring witnesses, backdated documents and photographs" that simply wasn't true.

Sheridan looked directly at the jurors as her attorney argued that she should be awarded roughly $6 million for being dumped from the primetime comedy/soap opera.

Nicollette is here today because she got hit," Baute told jurors. "She didn't want to be here."

The attorney also said it didn't make sense that ABC officials had renewed Sheridan's contract for the fifth season of the show if they intended to kill off her character. Her contract guaranteed her a full season's pay and a share of profits for the entire series.

Jurors have been presented conflicting testimony throughout the trial, much of it based on the memories of witnesses. Deliberations were expected to begin later in the day. Nine of the 12 jurors must agree in order for a verdict to be reached.

Sheridan's case initially included a battery claim, but the judge ruled Tuesday that jurors will no longer be asked to consider that allegation.