CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- The jury in the Aaron Thompson case got a better idea Wednesday what may have happened to the 6-year-old Aurora girl when the longtime love interest told them that Shely Lowe confessed the child died in her care.

"(Lowe) was giving Aarone a bath. Aarone just up and stopped breathing. She told me she tried to bring the child back to life but couldn’t," said Eric Williams Sr., who was Lowe's former boyfriend and the father of two of her kids.

Williams testified in court that this conversation took place in late January 2004. He was not clear about when Lowe indicated this bathtub incident actually happened.

But Aarone Thompson was reported missing by her father, Aaron Thompson, on Nov. 14, 2005. Thompson is now on trial for her death and Wednesday was the fourth day of testimony.

Williams told the jury he was shocked by the talk with Lowe.

"She was very, very emotional. She was crying. She swore that she didn't do nothing to the child," Williams said. He said that Lowe lied about Aarone's disappearance because she was worried about her children being removed from her custody.

"The only reason she did what she did was she didn't want her children to get taken," Williams said.

Lowe was living with Thompson and eight kids in a subsidized home on East Kepner Place in Aurora. After the report of Aarone's disappearance, an estimated 100 police officers spent countless hours searching for the child in bitter cold, winter conditions.

Thompson is now on trial in the case, facing 60 criminal counts -- mostly involving child abuse -- but also including conspiracy charges.

Lowe was never arrested by police and died of health complications in May 2006.

Williams said Lowe would try to go back into that conversation a week or so later.

"A couple of times, I refused to get into it. I just felt in my heart it wasn't right and there's no way you can justify anything like that," Williams said.

Williams is a recently released convict who has an extremely long criminal record with jail terms in multiple cities and state facilities. He also admitted he has an addiction to crack cocaine and problems with alcohol.

He explained that he demanded that Lowe send him money and called her a "baby killer" in a letter he wrote on March 13, 2004.

Williams said Lowe told him Aarone had been molested by an older sibling in the home and was beaten so severely she had a scar on her shoulder. Williams also provided details about what Lowe said happened to Aarone's body.

"They decided to take the child and bury the child," Williams said.

"They had got stopped by the police ... he was driving ... they had shovels and stuff in the back of the car. She was with Aaron Thompson. It was a painful. It was just a crazy moment (for me). She said that her and Aaron Thompson left the house at night. Aarone, they dressed her up in her clothes and drove her far away and buried her. And as they were burying her she could hear the last breath come out of the child's body," Williams said.

When a prosecuting attorney asked, "Did she say who was using the shovel?"

Williams said, "She said it was him -- Aaron Thompson."

Williams is still on the witness stand as jurors take their afternoon break.

Child Offered To Show Pic Of Aarone, But Lowe Refused

Earlier in the day, an Aurora police detective testified that the missing person's case shifted into a homicide case when Aarone offered to show detectives a recent picture of the girl.

"Let's go ask your mom if you can show me a picture," Detective Randy Hansen said to the boy.

It was Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005, three days after Aarone Thompson had been reported missing.

But after the 8-year-old boy asked his mother, Shely Lowe, about the photo, the entire nature of the case appeared to shift, the detective said.

"She became upset, kind of mad, and told Eric, 'No,' and to go watch TV," Hansen said.

The boy had been describing a family road trip to Daytona Beach, Fla. in 2004 and said Aarone had gone along. He said he believed there was a picture of her somewhere in the house.

But after Lowe refused, Hansen went to talk with coworkers and supervisors inside the Aurora Police Mobile Command Center. When he went back to the home in the afternoon, the nature of the investigation changed.

"We had decided we were going to remove the kids for their own safety," Hansen said.

At that point, the cooperation police had been getting from Lowe and Thompson evaporated, he said.

"(Lowe) was very upset, (and) started calling me names. She asked me why we were taking the kids away. At some point, she called me a name ... a bald-headed redneck mother f*****. I also explained to her we were getting a search warrant for the residence," Hansen said.

He said Lowe was standing and yelling.

"I explained to her we had reason to believe the kids could be in danger. We had reason to believe Aarone had been gone for a long time," Hansen said.

Hansen was asked in court about Thompson's reaction.

"I don't recall seeing him react," Hansen said.

Police removed the seven kids from the home on East Kepner Place and began to re-interview them in separate locations, including police headquarters and the SungateKids Center, a child abuse advocacy center in the Denver area.

During the interview with the boy, Hansen said he was surprised when the boy volunteered to tell the detective about Aarone's favorite things. Orange was her favorite color, pizza her favorite food and she has dressed up as a witch for Halloween, the boy said.