The sister of a nurse accused of killing six people after speeding through a red light at 130 mph broke down on the stand as she described a bizarre series of video calls made minutes before the fiery crash.
Kimberly Linton, the oldest sister of Nicole Linton, told the jury Monday that her sister made five video calls while driving on the afternoon of the crash, including one that lasted six minutes.
She testified that moments before the crash Nicole was talking “gibberish” and “complete nonsense.”
Asherey Ryan, 23, who was more than eight months pregnant and heading to a prenatal appointment, was killed along with her unborn son Armani, 11-month-old son Alonzo Quintero and boyfriend Reynold Lester when Linton’s Mercedes tore through the intersection of La Brea and Slauson avenues on Aug. 4, 2022.
Nathesia Lewis, 42, and Lynette Noble, 38, who were traveling in another car, were also killed when Linton’s Mercedes plowed into traffic, triggering a fireball near a gas station.
Kimberly described the look on her sister’s face as “confused” as she talked on the video call.
At one point, Nicole mentioned Kimberly’s daughter, who lives in Philadelphia, saying: “pack a lunch for daughter I’m going to take her to school,” defense attorney Jovan Blacknell stated.
In another bizarre exchange, Nicole said she would be marrying Will Smith, telling her sister to “meet me at the altar.”
Kimberly called her other sister, Camille, immediately after the strange call, at around the same time Nicole slammed into traffic, killing six.
Kimberly blamed Camille for “triggering Nicole” by texting her days earlier during an emotional call that was played in court.
“You know she’s not well,” Kimberly said during the exchange.
Camille yelled at Kimberly, who was seen crying and wiping away tears while listening to the call, saying: “I don’t know she’s not well I’ll never text her again.”
In the days leading up to the August 2022 crash, Kimberly said Nicole was “cleaning obsessively” and at one point “popped up” naked on a video call, surprising her sister.
“The behavior was unusual,” she testified.
Relatives of the victims stormed out of the courtroom at the beginning of the trial when graphic video of Ryan’s unborn baby following the wreck was shown during opening statements.
“The baby was ripped from her womb,” prosecutor Brittany Vannoy said of Ryan, who was on her way to a prenatal appointment at the time of the crash, her family said.
Prosecutors also displayed graphic photos of the victims’ burned bodies, causing more family members to leave.
“You’ll hear from the medical examiner, the bodies were incinerated,” Vannoy said.
Another dramatic moment came early in the trial while Tonya Boyd, a woman who attempted to give baby Alonzo CPR after the crash on a gas station convenience store counter, was testifying.
Linton, who was wiping tears away during the testimony, let out a loud gasp and started sobbing.
The judge immediately ordered the jury out and demanded the defendant “compose herself.”
The jury was ordered back in and Boyd continued, telling them: “There was blood coming from the baby’s neck” and that the baby “felt limp, mushy and not alive.”
A horrific picture was shown of the 11-month-old sprawled out on the convenience store counter with gum, candy and other items for sale at the mini mart, causing more tears from family members in the gallery.
Linton is on trial on six counts of murder and faces life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors dropped five counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence before trial.
Her defense has argued that she suffered a seizure and lost control of her Mercedes before the crash.
Linton waived her right to testify Monday after the defense rested its case.
The case is expected to go to the jury either later this week or next week.
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