Wednesday’s state court proceeding in the murder trial of a man accused of killing Jack in the Box restaurant manager Helen Prestosa ended early because the state’s key witness apparently became ill.

Less than an hour into Roger Rivera’s testimony, Circuit Judge Karen Nakasone called a recess and sent the jurors out of the courtroom. The court called for medical assistance. City first responders wheeled Rivera out of the courthouse to an ambulance and drove off.

Rivera, 53, is the father of murder defendant Jhun Ley Irorita.

The state said in the trial’s opening statements Monday that Irorita, 26, confessed to his father in 2016 that he killed the 39-year-old Prestosa and had Rivera help him carry Prestosa’s body to his pickup truck. Some volunteers picking up trash on Tantalus found Prestosa’s skeletal remains at the bottom of a steep embankment five months later.

Deputy Prosecutor Wayne Tashima had not yet asked Rivera about his son’s confession.

Rivera testified Wednesday through an Ilocano interpreter. From the beginning, his responses came after long pauses, prompting Tashima to ask the interpreter if Rivera had a response.

Rivera initially said he didn’t work at the Kapiolani restaurant managed by the murder victim. Then when Tashima asked him where he worked with Prestosa, said he worked with her at that restaurant. He testified that he worked there for about five months and hasn’t worked since because he is suffering from a “sickness” that started while working at the restaurant.

Nakasone called a recess to the proceeding before Rivera revealed the nature of his illness.

Irorita’s lawyer said in his opening statement Monday that Rivera is the likely killer because Prestosa was about to turn him in for filing what she believed was a fraudulent on-the-job injury claim.

Earlier in the day Tashima told the judge he will not be calling as a witness a former Irorita cellmate. The former cellmate showed up in court Wednesday morning with a lawyer.

The trial is scheduled to resume at 1:30 p.m. today. The judge told Tashima to have other witnesses lined up in case Rivera is not available to resume his testimony.