FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The wife of a former Weld County investigator is on trial in the ambush slaying of the wife of a Greeley police officer. Prosecutors say it was because of a love triangle. Shawna Nelson was having an affair with the victim's husband.

7NEWS Reporter Lance Hernandez is in the courtroom and blogging from the trial.

Posted at 4:16 p.m.

Public defender (PD) asked if Michelle was the one who who put Ambien in Ken's coffee. She said yes. The PD asked if she was the one who took a pair of pliers and said she'd cut the brake lines on Heather's car. She said yes.

The PD asked if Michelle was aware that Heather had to have the car repaired after that. She said yes. The PD asked if the nails Shawna reportedly threw in the Garraus' driveway had been bent with pliers. Michelle answered yes.

The public defender asked about Michelle and Shawna's DNA conversation. He said, "You were the one who said that she should shoot her through a car window so it would serve as a barrier to DNA transfer."

Moore responded, "Yes."

Moore said the discussion at a Wal-Mart parking lot was the only conversation she'd had with Shawna about shooting Heather.

PD said, "Later, you told police there was another conversation when you got home from Girl Scout meeting, you talked about a phone call with a coded message." (Where "taking a bath" meant the task had been completed.)

PD says statements to police kept switching back and forth. Moore responded, "Not entirely."

PD said police told Moore that putting Ambien in Ken's coffee would be felony assault, but police wouldn't charge her if she told them more.

"You never tried to talk Shawna out of it? Never tried to tell police?" the public defender asked.

"No," Moore said.

"Yet, you'd been a police officer since 1996? ... You told Detective Tharp you thought all of this was a game. Tharp said how could you think it's a game when you just put Ambien in Ken's coffee?"

Public defender says police told Moore that her statements were so inconsistent that she was weakening the case against Shawna Nelson. Police said at that point, the defense could argue you are the one who actually killed Heather Garraus?

"Correct," Moore said.

You didn't want to be charged with first degree murder. You didn't want to go to jail?

"Correct," Moore said.

She had asked during fifth interview what Shawna could be facing.

"At that point you, you decided to change your story," the public defender said.

"I decided to tell the truth," Moore said.

Posted at 2:24 p.m.

Michelle Moore told jurors that Shawna was going up and down.

"She said she was going to get rid of Heather that night. She said she 'has to, that if I can't have him, Heather can't.'"

Moore said Shawna said, "If you get a phone call from me tomorrow saying, 'I'm taking a bath,' then you know I did it."

Later when Moore was checking her voicemail messages there was one from Shawna saying she was going to relax and take a bath.

Moore said her boyfriend later came over and told her that Heather Garraus had been shot.

Moore said she originally did not tell police what she knew because she was scared. She said she didn't know what was really going on.

She said she didn't tell police everything she knew. In November 2007 she called Detective Tharp. He told her if there was anything else she wanted to say now was the time to do it. She didn't say anything.

She called him back Nov. 8 and told him there were some things she wanted to tell him. She said she wasn't facing any charges at that point but she just felt she needed to do it. On Nov. 14, during the interview, she outlined more details about conversations she had with Shawna.

Moore says she hoped that charges would not be filed but was never promised they wouldn't be.

She says one Halloween Shawna was in a nun costume. It was a traditional full-length to the floor black piece.

Posted at 1:36 p.m.

Michelle Moore is on the stand. She reached an agreement this morning to plead guilty to aiding and abbetting Shawna Nelson with the crime.

She says she met Shawna when she was a patrol officer and Shawna was a dispatcher.

She says they were good friends. She knew Nelson's immediate family and had been to their home numerous times.

She says she was aware of Shawna's relationship with Ignacio Garraus because Shawna confided in her about her relationship.

She says Shawna often told her she was in love with him (Garraus) and didn't get along with her husband. Says Shawna called Heather a "hag" and "there were some other names."

"She disliked Heather. She hated her," Moore said.

Shawna believed that Heather wasn't good enough for Ignacio, and that she (Shawna) was better. Michelle says Shawna would frequently drive by the Garraus residence.

She says she was with Shawna when "she asked me to get out and take a Minnie Mouse ball off Heather's antenna. I gave it to her (Shawna)."

Another time, "she asked me to get out, made it seem like a joke, but to go cut her brake line on her car ... She handed me a pair of pliers or cutters, and I got out and went to the front tire and pretended to do something but didn't."

"I went back to her vehicle and got in and we left. I told that I cut something. She just smiled and laughed."

Another time, "She threw nails out in front of the driveway."

Shawna often expressed that Heather was standing in the way of what she wanted, the man she wanted.

"She had said that she wanted to get rid of her," Moore testified.

Was there any doubt about what she wanted to do?

"No, not now," Moore said.

Prosecutor asked, "Do you recall in December going to the Cactus Canyon?"

She said Shawna, she and Ignacio went to the bar. She said Ig had gotten a phone call and left. Shawna was angry that he answered his phone when he was supposed to be with her.

"There was some name calling of Heather Garraus."

Moore says that the next day, Shawna told her that Ig had told Heather about everything. That day or the next day Shawna had come back up and said that Ig and Heather were working things out. Shawna was very angry about that, but said he made that choice.

Shawna believed that Heather had talked Ignacio into staying in the marriage. Shawna didn't think Ignacio wanted to, but Heather forced him to. Her anger was directed at Heather, Moore said.

She said Shawna told her, "Well, I could just shoot her." Shawna said she could "just drive down to the credit union and shoot her ... That there was a vacant house nearby where she could park her truck, then come back."

Moore said Shawna would engage her in different scenarios and talk about things that she could do and things that she shouldn't do.

Shawna had asked about evidence. "I told her a person would have to disguise themselves. She said that 'she has a mask and a black robe," Moore said.

Any questions regarding hands?

"We talked about DNA. I told her you would probably have to wear gloves."

And other steps?

"Yes, that you can't have your hair showing, that you have to be completely covered up. Also that you can't leave any shell casings on the ground. I said you would probably want to leave something from someone else to make it look like it wasn't you," Moore said.

Kind of in a joking matter, Shawna said, "I could take a belt and rub it on the floor of a Wal-Mart. That should do it."

Moore says Shawna said she couldn't use her own vehicle because everyone would recognize it. Shawna then thought about a cousin's vehicle, but decided she didn't want to do that to the cousin, then talked about using Ken's truck, Moore said.

When asked if there was any discussion about method, Moore said she had talked about poison. There was also talk about firearms.

She said she was going to pawn her wedding ring, then said she was going to pawn a weapon. She said Shawna told her she would lower her voice to make it sound more like a man, different.

She said Shawna also told her that she knew someone who had been turned down for a loan and she would use that and say, "You denied me a loan."

On Jan. 22, Moore was with Shawna when she picked up Jordan from school. Ken had picked up Dillon. They went to a Girl Scouts function, then went to McDonald's in Ken's truck. Shawna got Happy Meals for kids, and Starbuck's for Ken and went back to the Nelsons' house.

"She handed me a small baggy that had some crushed up stuff in it. She said it was Ambien. She wanted me to put it in Ken's coffee. She said she didn't want to bother him... then Shawna went into another room," Moore said.

A while later she came back, noticed that Ken didn't drink the coffee so Shawna dumped it down the drain and said, "Well, she's not where she's supposed to be."

Moore assumed that Shawna was talking about Heather.

After dinner Shawna and Moore went to Jackson's Hole. Shawna told her she was in hell, and didn't want to live like this anymore.

Posted at 11:59 a.m.

Under re-direct he said he himself had never loaned his pickup to Ignacio Garraus. He said that info came from wife Shawna.

He also said when his wife told him about Christian, and that she didn't believe in abortions, she hadn't told him that she'd already had one.

Did you ever see a black gown?

"No," he replied.

Did you ever see your wife dressed in costume as a pregnant nun?

"No, but I had seen a picture of it," he replied.

Did you know she was wearing your underwear (on the day of the shooting)?

"No," he said.

Does she normally wear your undergarments?

"No," he said.

When asked about the letter from the Garraus' to the Nelsons' Ken said Shawna mentioned that "Heather must be behind it."

Posted at 11:27 a.m.

Ken Nelson says he like to hunt elk so he has carried rifles in his pickup, specifically a Remington 700 and a shotgun. He says it was normal to have different types of ammunition in the truck including shotgun, .45-caliber and .40-caliber.

He was asked if it was common for PMC spent ammo to be left in the truck. He said "yes."

He says Shawna had let Ignacio Garraus use his pickup before. Also her brother-in-law, Kurt Smith, who is a painter.

He says he didn't think there was a problem with the children being down in the basement, not even Christian, who was 1-year-old at the time.

He says Shawna appeared surprised when he stopped her on the street on Jan. 23 and shouted questions to her about the kids.

He testified under direct examination that he picked up the black object (the mask) then put it back down.

Under cross examination, he was asked if this is the first time he mentioned that. He said, "No, I believe I told Greeley police about that."

The public defender asked Nelson if he was certain that he had the Glock 22 with him when he went to work that day. Nelson said yes. "Are you certain?" the public defender asked. "Yes," Nelson replied. He said there was no possibility that he was confused.

Nelson was asked, "Did you see the Glock 27 any night of the 23rd?" He responded, "No."

Nelson was then asked if there was any possibility that the Glock 22 could have left his presence and be used in the shooting at the credit union. He said, "No." When asked how certain he was of that, he responded, "Positive."

He was then shown the shoes taken into evidence. He said he didn't recognize them. He said they appear to be a men's size 10 and said Shawna wears a women's size 8. He says he's never seen those shoes in Shawna's possession.

He was asked if he's hidden or altered any evidence in this case. He said no.

Posted at 10:36 a.m.

Prosecutors asked Ken Nelson how he learned about the shooting. He said dispatchers aired it over the radio. That's how he learned Shawna was a suspect.

"I initially thought one of the other detectives was trying to be funny. Then they broadcast it a second time," Nelson said.

He says he grabbed Kell Hulsey and took off. He was worried that his own children had been shot.

On the way home he spotted his own pickup behind him. He stopped in the middle of the road, got out of his Jeep and stepped in front of the pickup, then confronted his wife. He looked inside the pickup, saw a mask on the floor and didn't know what it was at first.

He then got back in his Jeep and took off to check up on his children.

Dillon was home holding a karaoke machine.

"I told him to get his coat and get in the car," Ken said.

He then looked at some photographs of the mask recovered from his pickup. When asked if he had ever seen that mask prior to Jan 23 -- in his house or in his vehicle -- Nelson said, "No." He said he'd never seen his wife wear it before.

He said a week before the shooting, he was looking for a high capacity magazine for his duty weapon. He said he looked throughout his pickup, under and between the seats and in the glovebox, and didn't find it. He said he never saw the mask in the pickup while he was searching for the magazine.

Nelson was then asked about a Glock handgun. He said it was a subcompact 27, which was very similar to his duty gun. He said Shawna told him she took it to Loveland to pawn it because she didn't want pawn records to be seen in Greeley. Nelson also said Shawna told him she actually sold the gun to someone in front of the pawn shop so she didn't have to pawn it.

After the Glock was sold, he never saw any other handguns in his house.

In Jan. 2007 Nelson still had Glock 23 pistol that she said she had pawned and his Glock model 22, his duty weapon. The Glock 27 had already been sold.

When asked about the affair his wife had with Ignacio Garraus, Nelson said he'd agreed to work things out with his wife and raise Christian as his own. He said he knew Christian couldn't be his son because he'd had a vasectomy.

He said he was aware of his wife's tattoo on her ankle. He said he didn't know what it was then. She said it was something tribal.

He says he continues to raise all three kids. He says divorce proceedings are going forward, but have not been finalized.

Posted at 9:46 a.m.

Defendant's husband, Ken Nelson, takes the stand.

He says he has been married to Shawna for 12 years. They have three children -- Dillon, 9; Jordan, 7; and Christian, 2.

Says he found out about the affair around Christmas 2005; he later said it may have been 2004.

He says he and Shawna separated and he filed for divorce. Later, when he learned she was pregnant with Christian, the couple reconciled and he agreed to raise the boy as his own.

He tried to get Ignacio's parental rights terminated.

Later, he got a letter from Garraus' attorney telling them that all contact must now be through an attorney. He says Shawna was upset and said, "It must have had to do with Heather."

He said the Ford Expedition belonged to his wife. He says she didn't drive his pickup truck very much because she thought it rode too rough.

He says that on Jan. 22 -- the day before the shooting -- he saw his wife's best friend, Michelle Moore. She and his wife had brought some Happy Meals home for the kids.

He says he went to work around 11:20 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. on Jan. 23, 2007. He took the Jeep Cherokee, his work vehicle. He was supposed to work from noon to 10 p.m. He checked for e-mail, phone messages, did some followup work.

He went home for dinner around 5:15 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. He parked in front and the door was locked. Dillon came up the stairs. He says Jordan and Christian were both downstairs in the unfinished basement area. He says that was not a normal area for him to be in.

Shawna wasn't home. Dillon said she was upstairs taking a bath. Master bedroom door was locked. He called out and there was no answer. He said that was not unusual.

He went back to work. Because her purse and keys were there, he thought maybe she just couldn't hear him. He said he heard no noise coming from master bedroom.

He said Dillon told him that Shawna said she would pay him (Dillon) to watch the other children. He left the house without eating, went to his mother's house briefly, then back to work.

He says there was supposed to be a briefing at 6:00 but that that briefing never occured.

**Short Break**

Posted at 9:36 a.m.

John Kinne is sworn in. He is an officer with the Greeley Police Dept.

He testified that on Jan. 23, 2007 he was at Starbucks and he saw the defendant drive by. They waved to each other. He had known her as a coworker. Her husband, Ken, was his first supervisor at Evans Police Dept.

He says 5-10 minutes later he saw Ignacio Garraus and his daughter at Starbucks.

Later, he says by looking at videotape from a nearby Subway he saw that Shawna was wearing white shoes.

Tuesday, February 26, 2006. Posted at 9:19 a.m.

Prosecutors call William Bodziak to the stand. He is a forensic consultant and expert in tire tracks and tire track comparisons. Bodziak testified that a dental stone cast of tire treads found behind the credit union where the shooting took place matched the treads on the tires of the pickup truck that the suspect was driving.

He talked about tread patterns and how stones lodged in the tread could leave telltale impressions in a track.

Bodziak told jurors, "It's highly probable that this tire, (from the suspect's pickup) right rear tire made the impression that this cast represents."

Previous Entries:

• February 25, 2008: Blog Day 3: Nelson’s Interrogation Tape Shown
• February 22, 2008: Blog Day 2: Suspect’s Lover Testifies
• February 21, 2008: Blog Day 1: 911 Tapes Played