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EVERETT — The defense for Derek Carlile rested this morning without calling a witness.

Carlile, a Marysville police officer who was charged with manslaughter after his 7-year-old daughter was fatally shot by her younger brother in March, did not take the stand.  His attorney, David Allen, told Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne that the defense would not call any witnesses.

The trial got underway yesterday with opening statements and the prosecution presenting its case. Now that the defense has rested jurors will likely begin deliberations later today.

Jenna Carlile was shot on March 10 when Carlile, who was off duty, and his wife stopped in Stanwood on their way to a wedding. The couple got out of their minivan, leaving their four children, ages 1 to 7, inside with the loaded .38-caliber revolver.

According to charging documents, Carlile’s 3-year-old son crawled into the front seat, grabbed the handgun from an open bin and shot Jenna once in the abdomen. The girl later died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Deputy Prosecutor Lisa Paul told jurors yesterday that Carlile failed to heed the danger and risk involved in leaving the loaded, unsecured firearm in an enclosed van with four unsupervised children.

But Allen, during his opening statement, said state laws do not address potential criminal penalties for adults who make it possible for children to get their hands on firearms. Carlile did not actively cause his daughter’s death by handing the gun to his son, or by telling the boy to shoot, Allen said.

Carlile, a Marysville police office since 2009, has been on paid administrative leave since the shooting