LAS VEGAS—Prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth continued to present witnesses throughout the sixth day of the kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted murder trial of Jonathan "War Machine" Koppenhaver, and perhaps the most damaging testimony the jury heard yesterday was that of Christy Mack's mom, Erin Mackinday, who made it clear there was no love lost between her and her daughter's former boyfriend.
"I wish I would've shot you," Mrs. Mackinday said at one point, looking directly at Koppenhaver.
What brought Mrs. Mackinday to that point was one of several incidents she'd witnessed between her daughter and Koppenhaver when the mother lived with her daughter for a time in Christy's Las Vegas home; specifically, a scene involving one of Christy's pet snakes.
According to a report on BloodyElbow.com, "On this occasion, Koppenhaver allegedly grabbed Mack by the neck, lifted her off the ground, and dragged her up the stairs before throwing her onto the bed. Mackinday recalled trying to calm her daughter down afterwards.
"I took her into the bathroom, held onto her and said 'Shut up! He will kill you. Shut up!'" Mrs. Mackinday testified, later adding, "He stood in the closet with his laundry bag, taking his clothes, stuffing it in there, saying, 'I'm going to kill! I'm going to kill you!'
After that incident, "I believed he would eventually kill her," she said. "I couldn't stand him at that point. I didn't like him. I told Christy."
But when Bluth asked the mother if she regretted not contacting the police prior to Koppenhaver's final atttack on her daughter and boyfriend Corey Thomas, Mackinday looked at Koppenhaver and said, “No, I wish I would've shot you."
Surprisingly, Mrs. Mackinday told the jury that after the August 2014 attack on the pair, Koppenhaver had actually texted Mrs. Mackinday to inquire about Christy's condition, and when the mother called Koppenhaver for clarification, he reportedly stated to her, "We had a fight. I had to beat her up."
Earlier in the day, the jury had heard from Las Vegas Municipal Police Department forensic investigator Det. Jessica Flynk, who had recovered texts from the night of the attack on Koppenhaver's cellphone, which, she said, "alternated from aggressive to sexual," according to a report in the New York Post. He had also texted, "I'm gonna snap tonight" at least twice on the night of the attack.
"Earlier Monday, it was revealed that Koppenhaver, 35, tried to win back his ex-porn star girlfriend by having a friend tell her that he intended to propose the night of the attack," the Post story added.
"Please tweet her this: 'He was going there early with a ring to surprise you bitch'," Koppehaver allegedly texted friend Phil Baroni after the assault.
"'Need to get her sentimental and on my side'," Koppenhaver also wrote.
The jury also heard from LVMPD Det. Craig Fabert, who was assigned to the city's Special Victims Unit and assisted Bluth in investigating the case.
The day's final witness, however, was Dr. Steven Saxe, an oral/maxilofacial surgeon who had helped repair Christy's broken and missing teeth, her broken nose and fractured eye-socket, who testified in response to one of Bluth's questions that, "That one blunt force trauma could actually cause fractures in the nose, along with fractures of the teeth in the front."
That testimony was apparently elicited because Koppenhaver's attorney, Jay Liederman, and others on the defense team had tried to show that rather than the barrage of punches and kicks to which Mack and Thomas had testified, that Koppenhaver had only actually struck her once or twice—and Dr. Saxe's statement appeared to indicate that the number of blows delivered by the former mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter didn't matter.
Most of Monday's testimony has been uploaded to YouTube and can be found here, here, here and here.
The trial is scheduled to resume this afternoon.
Pictured: Erin Mackinday on the witness stand.
