The decision to kill off the character played by Nicollette Sheridan in "Desperate Housewives" was made about four months before creator Marc Cherry got into a fight with the actress, according to testimony by a former ABC executive.

A story in The Hollywood Reporter says Mark Pedowitz, former head of ABC and Touchstone Studios, testified at the trial that the decision to kill off the character was made in two small meetings, during which Cherry outlined his ideas for the fifth season of the show, the piece notes.

Pedowitz said the fate of Sheridan’s character was made in the smaller, confidential meetings rather than larger meetings because it hadn’t yet been decided when or how to kill off the character, the story says. He approved the decision on May 22, 2008, and ABC Entertainment President Stephen McPherson gave his blessing soon afterward, the piece adds.

“They felt there was no more storytelling to tell (about that character) after that season,” Pedowitz notes.

The confrontation between Sheridan and Cherry occurred in September 2008.

As previously reported, Sheridan’s $6 million wrongful termination case has included testimony about Cherry striking the actress in the head.