Edwin Alemany is accused of going on a violent spree in 2013 that left 24-year-old Amy Lord dead.
Prosecutors say the 30-year-old kidnapped Lord, forced her to drive to several ATMs and withdraw money, then killed her, leaving her body in a park.
The first witness against him was Alexandra Cruz who says she, too, was attacked by Alemany that day. She says he went after her as she was walking to work.
"I grabbed my phone because it was the only thing that I could grab," she said on the stand. "And I passed it to him and I told him, 'I'm not going to fight you. Take whatever you want.' And he pushed it and told me, '[Expletive] I'm not robbing you. Just know that you're going to die today.'"
Alemany's defense attorney, Jeffery Denner, made clear he does not deny his client attacked Cruz.
"You understand we are not contesting that he is the man that did what you allege, yes?" Denner asked Cruz.
He is trying to convince the jury Alemany is mentally ill, but he got no help on that from Cruz.
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"How would you characterize someone who hits you the way he did, drags you into the dark lot and says, 'I'm going to kill you, (expletive). I'm not here to rob you,' was there an anger to that?" he asked Cruz.
"He was pretty calm when he was attacking me," said Cruz.
The attack on Cruz happened just hours before Lord was taken from her South Boston apartment. The prosecutor says Alemany attacked three women that day, but only killed Lord.
