CONWAY, SC (WBTW)- The jury heard very emotional testimony Thursday, starting with Katie Khanduja.
Khanduja said she grew up with Heather Sims and knew her as a woman who stood for her faith, family and friends. She recalled several childhood memories saying Sims was smart and wanted to help people. Khanduja said Sims would only pull a trigger on someone if they were going to kill her or her child.
Prosecutor Nancy Livesay cross examined Khanduja on her statements. Khanduja testified that she didn’t know Sims was in a violent relationship.
” I didn’t know what she was going through and if I would have come home more often and saw her, I could’ve probably picked up that she was being abused and I could’ve helped her,” explained Khanduja.
After listening to countless hours of testimony, Heather Causey-Sims finally got to tell the jury her side of the story. Her attorney Morgan Martin started by asking her a question that has probably been on everyone’s mind, do you regret what happened?
“With all of my heart,” Sims responded. “I look at my child everyday and I’m reminded that he doesn’t have a father.”
Martin then introduced Sims to the jury by showing them pictures of her as a young girl growing up in Conway. Eventually Sims told the story of how she and David met.
The couple married on December 18, 2010 and moved in with her parents in Conway shortly after. Sims said they started seeing a counselor because her and David had trouble communicating.
According to Sims, things got progressively worse after their son was born in March 2013. Sims said David resented her for making him have to commute from Conway to Florence. He also complained that his family didn’t get to see the baby enough.
“It should’ve been the happiest time in our lives and it was the most terrible,” she stated.
Despite the arguing, Sims said she wanted to make the marriage work. Phone records from July 2013 show Sims calling a relationship hotline to ask for prayers. Martin showed the jury a receipt for a book called “The Five Love Languages,” which Sims purchased 5 days after David’s life insurance policy was issued.
” I was worried about the marriage. I didn’t even know it had been issued,” said Sims.
Next, Sims walked the jury through August 11, 2013. She said the whole day was tense. She was running a bath, when David came in with tools to fix the toilet.
“He walked in looking to argue.”
Sims said he was taunting her with the knife and calling her names.
“I’ve seen him mad before, but never this mad,” described Sims.
She reached for the gun in the top drawer to calm him down. When he lunged at her, she shot.
“My hand went up and I shot,” he said. “I shot out of reaction.”
A previous witness testified that there were wiping marks in David’s blood . Her father was also heard on the 911 call telling her to wipe the door. Sims said she wasn’t thinking about the bathroom being a crime scene and she didn’t intentionally clean anything that had to do with the altercation.
As for David Sims’ cellphone, Heather said she didn’t know the password and the only way she could unlock the phone was to restore it.
“I till this day, would love to know what was on that phone,” said Sims.
The prosecution called two more witnesses to the stand Thursday, David’s ex-wives. Both described David as a non-violent person.
“I don’t want him to be painted into something he was not,” said Teresa Yarborough.
Closing arguments start Friday morning. Count on News 13 for continued coverage.
