MARIETTA, Ga. (CN) - The adult daughter of the woman whose baby was shot to death in a stroller testified Wednesday that her mom's comments after the shooting didn't "settle well" with her.
Ashley Glassey, Sherry West's 21-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, told the jury that her mother telephoned her the night her half-brother was killed. Sobbing, Glassey testified: "She asked me how long I thought it would take to get the life insurance policy check on my brother."
Glassey was the first witness for the defense, which began presenting its case Wednesday, the eighth day of the trial.
De'Marquise Elkins, now 18, is being tried for the felony murder of Antonio Santiago, who was 13 months old when he was shot on March 21.
The baby's mother, Sherry West, also was shot, as she pushed her baby in a stroller home from the post office.
Elkins also is accused of trying to rob West, who testified Tuesday that Elkins demanded her purse, shot her in the leg, hit her in the head with a pistol, then shot her baby in the face.
Elkins' mother, Karimah Elkins, is being tried with her son, charged with obstructing justice by throwing the gun into a marsh and lying to police.
If convicted, De'Marquise Elkins faces up to life in prison. He cannot be sentenced to death because he was 17 when the crime was committed.
In her testimony Tuesday, West told jurors she bought a Gerber Life Insurance policy for $5,000 for her infant son and used $1,200 of the proceeds to pay for his funeral and cremation. She said she used the rest for moving expenses, as she didn't feel safe in her apartment after the shooting.
West, sitting in the courtroom gallery, stared at her daughter as Glassey testified Wednesday, visibly nervous and upset.
Glassey told jurors that her parents had divorced when she was 8 and her father got custody of her. She said she had not seen her mother in more than 4 years.
Glassey said her mother called her in New Jersey a few hours after baby Antonio was killed.
"She told me about Antonio's death," Glassey said through sobs. "I told her about my father's death a few months earlier, and she played the grieving part when I told her.
"First she told me that two kids came up to her and asked her for her money. She said one kid shot Antonio and then shot her.
"Then she changed the story. It was a very vague statement. Then she said she was shot first and Antonio second."
Glassey said she told her mom she wanted to go to Georgia for the funeral but her mother didn't want her there.
"She got upset and said, 'No, you are not coming down here, it's not safe. No, no, no,'" Glassey testified.
"She said she worried that someone would hurt me. She told me, 'Someone hurt Sean, someone hurt Antonio. I don't want someone hurting you.'"
West testified on Tuesday that her son from a previous marriage, Shaun Glassey, was murdered in 2008.
Defense attorney Kevin Gough asked Glassey: "After the phone call, did you have trouble sleeping that night?"
"The whole conversation didn't settle well with me," Glassey replied. "My mind was racing all night about the conversation I had with her."