CHARLOTTE — A defendant accused in the killing of a 20-year-old Charlotte woman testified Tuesday that his former girlfriend carried out the fatal attack in a NoDa apartment, admitted he never called 911, and apologized to the victim’s family for lying to them and investigators.
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“I get down on my knees, and I check her pulse in her neck. There’s no pulse. That’s when I – she’s dead,” said defendent Lavi Pham.
Pham’s testimony on the witness stand continued on Tuesday in the murder case against him and co-defendant James Salerno.
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The two are accused of killing 20-year-old Mary Collins.
Pham told the jury his recollection of the night that Collins died.
“What did you see when you went into the bedroom?” said Pham’s defense attorney Miranda Mills.
“Kelly was on top of Mary,” Pham said.
He said a night of heavy drug use ended with his then-girlfriend Kelly Lavery killing his ex-girlfriend, Collins, with the help of America Diehl.
Pham said Diehl jumped in and beat Collins over the head with a liquor bottle. Lavery later slashed and stabbed Collins in the bathroom.
“I couldn’t really believe what I was seeing,” Pham said. “I’ve never seen Kelly act like this. It’s like she lost it.”
Pham said it didn’t all happen at once. The attacks split up over time and at no point did he or Salerno call 911.
“Honestly, the thought of calling 911 never crossed my mind, and nobody even brought it up, you know,” Pham said.
Pham admitted that he lied to Collins’ family when they showed up, looking for her, and he lied to police at times, too.
In court, he looked right at Collins’ family and apologized.
“I’m sorry,” Pham said. “I’m sorry for lying to you. No matter how much I apologize. It’s not going to fix it.”
Diehl has only been charged with concealing a death and accessory after the fact.
She testified earlier in the trial, sharing her memory of that night.
Diehl said she had no idea anything happened until the others forced her to wrap Collins’ body and clean the bathroom.
Prosecutors played Diehl’s emotional interview with police from the months after Collins’ death.
The stories were nearly identical.