The man on trial for the slaying of federal intern Chandra Levy told a D.C. Superior Court judge Monday morning that he won’t be taking the witness stand.

With the jury out of the courtoom, Judge Gerald Fisher asked Ingmar Guandique whether he planned to testify in his own defense. The 29-year-old illegal immigrant from El Salvador said he would not, and Fisher told him that jurors will be told they can’t infer guilt from a defendant choosing not to testify.