Surrounded by her family, Ana Trujillo walked into court as her murder trial got underway.
In her opening statements, prosecutor Sarah Mickelson took off the shoe she wore to court and demonstrated to the jury how the state believes Trujillo stabbed Andersson 25 times with a five and a half inch heel on June 9, 2013.
"It sounds bad initially because they guy got stabbed 25 times with a shoe," said prominent defense attorney Kent Schaffer.
Schaffer says may it look daunting for the defense, because both sides agree Andersson was killed by blows from a blue suede stiletto. But who's at fault is where it gets complicated.
Trujillo's attorney, John Carroll, described Andersson as an alcoholic who would become violent toward Trujillo. He said on the night of Andersson's death, Trujillo planned to leave him and go to a friend's house, but Andersson slammed her against a wall, grabbed her and threw her over a couch.
"She couldn't breathe. And she was begging and begging (Andersson) to let her go ... He started suffocating her ... She did the only thing she could do, take a weapon at her disposal, which was a shoe, and started hitting him," Carroll said.
"If she thought she was going to die, if she thought she would be seriously injured, and she had the right to stab in one time with the stiletto, she has the right to keep going until she felt she was no longer under attack," Schaffer explained.
Prosecutors began their case by calling several witnesses to establish that Andersson and Trujillo were seen at the Hermann Park Golf Course and then at a nearby bar on Almeda the night before the murder.
A worker at the golf course testified that Trujillo was rude and made profane statements. But on cross examination, that worker admitted the victim, Andersson, was a frequent visitor whose preferred drink was a glass of merlot.
Trujillo, 45, is a native of Mexico. She is currently free on a $100,000 bond. The trial is expected to last at least a week.
Miya Shay will have the latest on the #StilettoTrial. Follow her on Twitter at @miyashay
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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