Tylar Witt, 16, testifies against boyfriend in her mother's killing
(CBS/KOVR/AP) EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. - Tylar Witt, who admitted her involvement in the 2009 murder of her mother, Joanne Witt, took the witness stand Wednesday to testify against her former boyfriend Steven Colver, who is on trial for the same killing.
Investigators believe 47-year-old Joanne Witt was stabbed with a kitchen knife and had been dead for several days before being discovered in her home in El Dorado Hills, Calif., on June 15, 2009.
Tylar Witt faced Steven Colver Wednesday for the first time since the trial began, reports CBS affiliate KOVR.
She first described how she met Colver and then explained how they began to form a close friendship, which turned into dating.
According to KOVR, Witt testified that she loved and trusted Colver more than anyone saying, "If he asked me to jump off a bridge, and I asked him why and he said just trust me, I would have done it."
When Witt was asked about her relationship with her mother, she went on to say that their relationship was "great, fine" when she first met Colver, but her mother drank and that made her feel "frustrated, mad and sad," reports the station.
Witt described how her mother suggested that Colver move into their home because she needed a boarder and she was comfortable around him. But, she testified, soon after he moved into the home, her mother caught the two of them engaging in sexual acts, and ordered Colver to move out. The couple decided to keep sneaking around together, which is when her mother decided to call the authorities, she said.
Witt testified that a shoving match occurred one night while the drama with Colver escalated. Witt explained that they pushed one another, and her mother threatened to call the police. Instead, Witt decided to call the authorities and pretended to be her mother saying "My daughter is hitting me, come take her away.""I wanted to go anywhere to get away," said Witt reports the station.
Witt was taken to Juvenile Hall. She said after she was released she was extremely distant from her mother.
Witt told the jury that hours before the killing, she and Colver agreed to commit suicide together.
"We were going to use Drano, vodka and Pepto Bismol," Witt explained.
During the testimony, Witt admitted to lying to protect herself as well as Colver.
"I thought by giving you what you wanted to hear, it would help me," said Witt, KOVR reports.
When Witt was asked by the prosecutor why they should believe her now, she replied with,"Um, I can't really answer that other than to say I'm telling the truth. It takes a lot of energy to lie; I don't have that kind of energy anymore."
Prosecutors allege Colver fatally Joanne Witt after she discovered he was having a sexual relationship with her daughter Tylar, then 14.
She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for her testimony against Colver.