The trial of a 60-year-old Glen Arm woman accused of killing her husband continued in Baltimore County Circuit Court Thursday, with further testimony from their 17-year-old daughter.
Defense attorney Richard M. Karceski got an earful from Kelsey Koontz, a Notre Dame Preparatory School graduate and the daughter of defendant Mary C. Koontz. Kelsey Koontz grew increasingly exasperated with the attorney's efforts to poke holes in her testimony.
Karceski is trying to convince the jury that his client is mentally ill and therefore not responsible for her actions and that Kelsey and her father, Ronald G. Koontz, had treated the defendant with such disregard that they contributed to the "state of mind" that led to the shootings on June 19, 2009.
Some of Karceski's questions during Kelsey Koontz's second day on the stand sought to substantiate — or at least to imprint in the jurors' minds — allegations by the defendant that her daughter and husband had been involved in some sort of improper relationship.
Kelsey Koontz acknowledged that she and a family that now serves as her legal guardian have filed a multimillion-dollar civil lawsuit against Mary Koontz, who prosecutors say sneaked into the family's home a year ago and shot her estranged husband four times. She then went into Kelsey's room and fired a shot at her, but missed, prosecutors say. The girl locked herself in her room and called 911. The taped call was played for the jury.