Friend testifies Kayla Giles told her she wanted to kill husband, asked to borrow gun

A woman who has been friends with Kayla Giles since high school testified Thursday that Giles told her she wanted to kill her husband and then asked to borrow one of her guns.

When Jennifer Dennis refused to loan her a gun, Giles bought one at a Dallas store.

Twelve days later, she shot Thomas Coutee Jr. outside the Walmart on Coliseum Boulevard in Alexandria.

Her defense team says it was self defense. On Thursday, the state continued to present its evidence during Giles' trial on second-degree murder and obstruction of justice charges. 

Jennifer Dennis, a West Monroe resident who said she's been friends with Giles for about 17 years, took the stand Thursday afternoon. Louisiana Assistant Attorney General Joseph LeBeau asked her how they usually communicated.

Snapchat, she replied.

He asked her if they ever talked about their significant others, whether she ever met Coutee or at least knew of him. Dennis said they did talk about their partners and she knew of Coutee, but she had never met him.

LeBeau asked her if Giles ever told her that Coutee was abusive, and she said no. Dennis testified that Giles did seem a little upset by the divorce and custody battle over the couple's daughter.

Trial day 4 coverage:Forensic pathologist testifies Thomas Coutee Jr. died from single gunshot wound

She also said that Giles sent her a photo of the Ruger LCP .380 pistol she bought in Dallas. After being asked by LeBeau, Dennis testified that Giles had gone to Dallas to take a class.

She found out about the shooting through Facebook, she said. Dennis and Giles spoke by telephone soon after when Giles was in jail, a recording that was played the day before for jurors.

In that call, Giles walked Dennis through pulling up some financial websites on which she had accounts so that Dennis could transfer funds at some point if Giles remained in jail.

The two also talked about Giles' dog, Peanut, who Dennis was watching for her.

Dennis testified that she met Giles' sister, Jessica Giles, in Georgetown the day after the shooting so she could get the dog. What she didn't expect was the laptop in the floral-print bag — the "flower thing" that Kayla Giles had referred to in another jail call recording played for jurors — that Jessica Giles handed to her, she told LeBeau.

LeBeau asked her if she did anything else with the laptop other than what Giles told her to do or if she deleted anything. She said no.

He asked her if anyone contacted her about the laptop. She said was contacted by police and later surrendered it to the Ouachita Parish Sheriff's Office.

Child testifies:Giles' oldest daughter testifies in court after jurors see her 2018 video interview

Dennis testified that she gave a statement to investigators with her attorney, and then LeBeau asked her why she cooperated.

Dennis paused before saying she knew it didn't look good that she had the laptop and that she was innocent. She didn't want to get into trouble, she said.

LeBeau asked if it was fair to say she got dragged into something she wasn't expecting.

"Right," said Dennis.

Defense attorney George Higgins III asked her if she was nervous as he approached for his cross examination, and she said yes.

He asked if being involved in the investigation scared her so badly that she got an attorney. She said yes.

Higgins said Giles never asked her to dump the laptop in the Red River or to hide it, to which she said no. He also asked her if she'd ever heard anyone say they'd like to kill someone.

She had, she said.

'I was scared':Jurors in Kayla Giles' 2nd-degree murder trial view heated interview with detective

Higgins asked several more questions — whether Giles told her about getting her legs shut in a car door by Coutee, whether Giles asked to borrow a gun or told her why and whether Giles told her about the gun she bought in Texas.

He presented her with a copy of her interview transcript, asking her if it was correct that she told police she didn't know if Giles shot Coutee in self defense. Dennis said that was correct.

Higgins also asked her to identify multiple texts between her and Giles before he ended his questions.

LeBeau, during his redirect, asked Dennis if she was positive that Giles said she wanted to kill Coutee and asked to borrow a gun. Dennis said yes to both.

Then he asked her if she ever knew anyone who said they wanted to kill someone, then asked to borrow a gun and then did kill someone.

"No," she said.

Bank attorney recounts Giles' attempt to access Coutee's funds

The last person to testify was Amanda Barnett, the general counsel for Red River Bank. Louisiana Assistant Attorney General Brooke Harris asked Barnett if she sometimes got involved in customer disputes at the bank.

She said she sometimes advises bank personnel on such disputes, and then Harris asked if she was remembered one involving Giles.

Giles had written to the bank in December 2019, seeking access to an account Coutee had at the bank.

Barnett said she conducted a risk assessment after which the bank decided it would need a court order to release any funds.

Trial Day 1:State says Kayla Giles is 'cold, calculating,' but defense says she was protecting herself

Defense co-counsel Rocky Willson contended Giles was only fulfilling her duty as a mother to secure the account for Coutee's heir, their daughter.

But Harris asked Barnett to read from a court document that named a guardian for the couple's daughter. The document was signed before Giles tried to access the bank account.

The state will continue to present its evidence on Friday.