Stephanie Kaiser stood at the entrance to her home on Cross Creek Drive in March 2018, about to leave the house to go shopping, when she noticed something coming down the street.

“I witnessed a car come careening down the corner with a man attached to the top of it,” Kaiser recalled Tuesday during the criminal trial of 29-year-old Jessica Royall of Cranberry Township, who is accused of killing her boyfriend Ryan Minett, 27, of New Brighton.

'Thrown off the car'

“He was thrown off the car, and I went to go help him, but I realized when I got to him that there was nothing I could do.”

Kaiser's encounter on March 23 with Minett at the intersection of Cross Creek Drive and Little Pine Road in Cranberry Township turned out to be among his last.

She described him breathing heavily with his eyes open, but she couldn't see his pupils. He died the next day at UPMC Passavant.

Minett fell off Royall's gold Buick SUV, rolled dozens of feet and struck a light pole. Investigators said he suffered injuries resulting in his death the next day, including blunt force trauma to the head, torso and extremities. The criminal complaint further identified the manner of death as a homicide.

Trial expected to take several days

Dressed in black, tight pants and a dark, spotted shirt, Royall listened intently as Kaiser and a handful of witnesses recalled the moments leading to the fatal injury.

The trial before a jury of eight men and four women began Tuesday and is expected to take several days.

Royall is charged with homicide, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and other charges in Minett's death. She pleaded not guilty to all charges.

During opening statements, Assistant District Attorney Laura Pitchford, who is prosecuting the case, told jurors that Royall killed her boyfriend by refusing to slow down and let him safely get off her vehicle.

Wanted to get away

Her defense lawyer, William Difenderfer, painted a picture of Minett as a man with a history of abusing women who became increasingly possessive of Royall during their six-week relationship.

“All she wants to do is get away from the situation with that violent man,” Difenderfer said. “She wanted to get the hell away from him.”

The two met on Plenty of Fish online dating site, Difenderfer said, and during the six weeks of their relationship, the two regularly smoked crack cocaine.

“Both of their histories, unfortunately, had drug abuse,” Difenderfer said. “That was something they had in common.”

Difenderfer told the jury that on the day of the incident, Royall and Minett were smoking crack.

Prescription, money missing

“So they're partying,” Difenderfer said, but the festive atmosphere changed when Royall discovered her Vicodin prescription for pain relief was gone.

Things worsened, Difenderfer said, when she realized that the $800 she had saved in her bank account was gone. Minett had possession of her debit card.

“And she flips out,” Difenderfer said.

They begin to argue, and when things escalate, Royall tries to get her phone, but Minett intercepts her and takes it, he said.

“Suddenly, she realizes this is a really bad situation,” Difenderfer continued. “Jessica Royall later told detectives that she just leaves when she finds herself in a violent situation, and that's what she does here. She just leaves.”

He said that she ran to her vehicle, which she legally wasn't allowed to drive, to get away from Minett.

'Fighting for her life'

“She was fighting for her life. He scared the hell out of her,” Difenderfer said, explaining that Royall began to drive away. “What he does is grab on to this car. No one made him do that. He wasn't forced to do that.”

That context was missing for witnesses called to the stand. And Difenderfer asked the jury to take that into consideration as they heard testimony.

Stephanie Kaiser testified that she raced to help Minett while her husband called 911 as he drove his truck to block traffic around Minett.

Prosecutors played the recorded 911 call John Kaiser made for help during his testimony.

“The kid is lying in pain,” John Kaiser is heard telling the dispatcher.

Seven witnesses testify

The Kaisers were among seven witnesses called to the stand by the prosecution, including two police officers and five bystanders.

Several recalled watching Royall serpentine her car back and forth at high speeds before Minett let go, sending him tumbling into a light pole.

Witnesses also testified that Royall drove away without stopping and returned to retrieve her cellphone from Minett.

During the 911 call entered into evidence and played for the jury, a commotion can be heard on the recording when Royall allegedly returned to locate her phone on the victim.

John Kaiser is heard asking Royall, “Why are you going into his pocket?” Another voice could be heard in the background loudly yelling at Royall, telling her repeatedly to “walk away.”

Stephanie Kaiser testified that she assessed Minett's condition during the 911 call.

'Struggling to breathe'

“I could hear him struggling to breathe and his legs looked broken. I just froze,” Stephanie Kaiser said, adding that she watched as Royall approached Minett. “She came over and started shaking him and aggressively searching his pockets.”

However, one witness disputed the Kaisers' account that Royall reached Minett following the crash.

Ian Beck testified he was walking his terriers with his wife when he heard a “revving engine.”

“We saw (the SUV) buck a few times, very erratic,” Beck said Tuesday.

Beck testified he saw Royall return to the scene but said she was unable to make her way through the crowd gathered around Minett.

'She wasn't in touch'

“She wasn't in touch with the situation,” Beck said about Royall. “She was only concerned with getting her phone back, not the fact that there was a severely injured human being.”

Another witness also described Royall as being unsympathetic.

Denise Abernathy was driving home from work when she came to a stop on Cross Creek Drive and Bucktail Drive. She heard squealing tires coming from her right and saw Royall driving her SUV with Minett on top.

“I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm going to get hit,' ” Abernathy testified, adding that she heard a woman laughing from inside the vehicle.

Royall's trial continues Wednesday. After Tuesday's testimony concluded, Royall turned to her mom, who was sitting in the courtroom behind her, and said, “Bye, mom, love you.”

She remains in custody in Butler County Prison without bail.