Larry French/Getty Images(NEW ORLEANS) — The wife of slain New Orleans Saints star Will Smith broke down on the stand Tuesday in the trial of her husband’s alleged killer, saying “my worst nightmare happened for no reason,” according to ABC News affiliate WGNO-TV.
Racquel Smith was also wounded in the apparent road-rage shooting in New Orleans on April 9 that left her 34-year-old husband dead.
“I don’t want sympathy, I want justice,” she said on the stand, according to WGNO-TV. “He is not here today so I am his voice.”
Cardell Hayes, a former semiprofessional football player, was charged with second-degree murder to which he pleaded not guilty.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and former Saints player Steve Gleason were among those gathered at the courthouse for support on the first day of the trial.
On Tuesday afternoon, the victim’s wife took the stand for the prosecution and recounted the day of the shooting.
She said that morning “we got dressed, we kissed the kids goodbye, and we told them we would be back,” WGNO-TV reported.
The former Saints player posted a photo the day of the shooting, writing “Having a blast” at New Orleans’ French Quarter Fest.
According to WGNO-TV, Racquel Smith testified that, at one point during the alleged altercation between Hayes and her husband, “I looked at my husband in the eyes and said this is not worth it … and he walked away with me.”
“We were walking back to the car and I heard a pop pop,” she said, according to WGNO-TV. “I fell to the ground and played dead then I heard more pops.”
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