" ' I'm going to kill you then kill myself.' What does it feel like to have those words aimed at you?"
That is what Eric Aboulafia, the Suffolk County assistant district attorney prosecuting Patchita Tennant on attempted murder charges, asked in his opening argument to the 12 jurors and three alternates on Monday. The D.A.'s office claims Ms. Tennant, a well-liked manager at a CVS East Hampton branch, planned to kill her longtime boyfriend, Andrew Mitchell, because she was upset he had not yet married her and was cheating on her with a woman he met overseas and brought to the United States.
"Andrew Mitchell knows what it feels like," Mr. Aboulafia said as he pointed at Ms. Tennant, who sat quietly with her attorneys. He said they were "words and action born out of jealousy, humiliation, and rage."
Ms. Tennant's trial began Monday morning in Judge John B. Collins's courtroom in Riverhead. Six witnesses for the prosecution took the stand before the end of the day, with Mr. Aboulafia, and his second-chair, Katharine D'Aquila, taking jurors through the night of Sept. 5, 2019, when Ms. Tennant fired three shots into her boyfriend and father of their child in their Flanders home. An Amber Alert was issued for their then 3 1/2-year-old daughter; she was found safe with family members the next morning.
In his opening argument, Mr. Aboulafia said Ms. Tennant bought "a significant quantity of cleaning materials" at the East Hampton CVS earlier that day — something he claims points to her overall plan to end Mr. Mitchell's life that evening. He painted her as the aggressor during an argument that night, saying "busting down" a locked bathroom door and shot Mr. Mitchell.
As for the defense's assertion that Ms. Tennant was a victim of domestic violence, he said simply, "It didn't happen."
In his opening argument, Matthew Tuohy, from Ms. Tennant's defense team, told jurors, "At the end of the day, there's Mr. Mitchell's story and my client's story." He said Mr. Mitchell was a "controlling, scheming, manipulative guy," and that he was abusive — "not all the time physical, but sometimes."
In the afternoon, jurors heard the nearly 10-minute 911 call Mr. Mitchell made at 8:22 p.m. "I've got three bullet holes in me," Mr. Mitchell told the Southampton Town police dispatcher, Courtney Dombkowski, who took the stand. Mr. Mitchell told her Ms. Tennant had shot him because he was "cheating" on her and that he "wrestled" the handgun away from her, but he never said she was going to kill him or kill herself, something that Ms. Tennant's defense attorneys asked each witness they cross-examined on Monday.
"Please send help," Mr. Mitchell said, adding, "I'm going to pass out."
When Officer Robert McCoy arrived at the house at 492 Pleasure Drive, he drew his gun, unsure if Ms. Tennant was still on the property, according to his testimony. He found Mr. Mitchell in the doorway, bleeding from his chest, wearing only boxer-briefs. Mr. Mitchell collapsed into his arms on the stoop, the officer said. When pressed by Mr. Tuohy about what Mr. Mitchell told him happened, the officer said he was not there to interview Mr. Mitchell, but rather to administer first aid and make sure the scene was safe.
Officer McCoy and Sgt. Herbert Johnson followed the trail of blood from the front door, and up the stairs, where they found the .38 caliber revolver in the master bathroom, on the vanity counter, next to Mr. Mitchell's razor. Sergeant Johnson testified that the gun was cocked with the hammer in the rear position, "meaning it was ready to fire." He said he "decocked the revolver to make it safe so it wouldn't go off."
A Stony Brook University Hospital flight paramedic, Alex Calabro, who transported Mr. Mitchell to the level-one trauma center, testified that he found five bullet holes in Mr. Mitchell: in his right back, right arm, right upper chest, left lower chest, and left bicep. While listening to his lungs, he discovered that Mr. Mitchell was not moving air as he should in his right lung, making him concerned that Mr. Mitchell had a collapsed lung, which turned out to be the case. He underwent a three-hour life-saving surgery.
When Detective Michael Walsh took the stand, he testified that the staff at Stony Brook handed him a container with a bullet that had been retrieved from Mr. Mitchell's left arm.
Detective Steven DeMarco was the last to take the stand Monday afternoon, telling jurors about police finding Ms. Tennant's 2018 Hyundai Sante Fe abandoned in a parking lot in Middle Island on Sept. 6, while they searched for both her and her daughter.
In opening arguments on both sides, jurors were told they would need only their common sense to render a proper verdict.
"Technology is going to reveal and expose her intent," Mr. Aboulafia said.
"As terrible as his injuries were, as bad as they are, you're going to believe my client and find her not guilty," Mr. Tuohy said.
The trial is continuing on Tuesday.
