UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A child's emotional testimony brought people in a Union County courtroom to tears Thursday in the murder trial of Yolanda Simon.
Prosecutors said Simon was stabbed to death by her neighbor Lamate Anderson in February 2010, while her 6-year-old daughter was upstairs.
Trinity Simon, now 9, testified in front of jurors Thursday about hearing her mother screaming on that Sunday afternoon, which brought her running downstairs to find her mother in the hallway.
"She was just lying there and she wasn't breathing," Trinity said. "I called my grandma and told her to come get me because there was no one there with me."
The crime scene, replayed through a child's eyes, brought family and friends to tears. Some had to leave the courtroom when their sobbing became too loud.
Trinity testified she walked downstairs in time to see Anderson, wearing a red and black jacket, walk out the front door.
"I saw blood coming from her neck," Trinity said.
"Do you miss your mother?" the prosecutor asked her.
"Yes," she replied.
Other family members, including Simon's cousin and roommate, also testified Thursday.
WSOC
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