Christopher Kemp told jurors Thursday that he takes complete responsibility for the death of his 37-week-old unborn child.
Kemp is on trial for capital murder in Jefferson County Circuit Judge Laura Petro's court. The central question for jurors now is what was his intent and whether Kemp's intoxication, via un-prescribed Xanax, should result in a lesser charge.
The trial continues Friday with jury deliberations.
Kemp told the jury he never intended to kill the child or his ex-girlfriend, Jessica Jackson, on March 15, 2016. Defense Attorney John Robbins told jurors that in an intoxicated state Kemp snapped and attacked Jackson - but with no intention to kill the child.
A prosecutor disagreed.
"The evidence of intent is strong and undeniable," Deputy District Attorney Joe Roberts told jurors.
Robbins said Kemp "was popping Xanax like it was candy," and his actions were influenced by it. Hours after the assault Kemp responded to a Facebook Messenger request from an acquaintance of Jackson's.
He wrote: "I didn't mean to hurt [Jackson.] Just the baby."
Kemp said he sent the message while sitting with his father and the conversation he was having distracted him from what he was typing.
"I meant to type 'or the baby,' not 'just the baby,'" Kemp said to prosecutors.
Kemp said he remembers the moments before the assault and then his memory goes out until he comes to and finds that he is on top of Jackson. Kemp said he was strangling her with his left hand and punching her with his right when he "realized what he was doing."
"You left her in the garage unconscious and bleeding," said Deputy District Attorney Neal Zarzour.
"Yes," Kemp said.
Kemp said he left in a hurry after the assault because he was panicking and did not know what to do. Before leaving the house, Kemp said he attempted to call for help on Jackson's phone but could not get through the lock. He then threw the phone and it shattered.
Prosecutors told the jury in closing statements they believed he was trying to leave Jackson without a way to call for help.
Kemp returned to his car where his phone was and drove around town for a while before heading to his father's house where he was told he should turn himself in. It wasn't until after midnight when Kemp was stopped by police and said he was on his way to turn himself in.
The assault came after a string of aggravated incidents that Jackson said made her uncomfortable when she testified on Tuesday.
"She knew what she was signing onto," Robbins said in his closing statement. "She knew about the drugs, the layoffs - she knew."
On Dec. 23, Kemp made a Google search of "When will my pregnant girlfriend stop being a psychotic b----?" He said he believes he might have begun typing the question and clicked one of the auto-filler responses as they popped up.
On New Years Eve of 2016, Kemp testified to shooting an AK-47 off the back patio with his younger child standing behind him. He said the gunshots took the place of the fireworks he didn't have.
Jackson told investigators the shots were a response to Kemp's irritation with Jackson. She then swooped up the child in fear of the gun and left the house to return in the morning. A few weeks later, they were laying in bed together and Jackson allowed Kemp to put his hand on her abdomen. When he tried to put his ear to her body to hear the unborn child, Jackson refused to let him.
Kemp said he was hurt from the words she said. He stepped outside to smoke a cigarette with the windows up. Prosecutors said Jackson was sensitive to smells, and when Kemp came back inside he got in bed with the same clothes on.
"You were mad she didn't want to be close to her," Zarzour said. "You intentionally didn't take off the smelly clothes. You were trying to bother her."
Jackson left the bed and went to sleep somewhere else. Kemp proceeded to spray his cologne around the room and on himself.
Jackson kicked Kemp out of the house for the final time in January 2016. There were times during the initial break when Jackson had Kemp blocked from every communication besides email. Prosecutors said he emailed once or twice a day, despite Jackson's requests to subside.
"I think you need to start looking at this from the perspective that we are never getting back together," Jackson wrote to Kemp in an email on March 10 - five days before the attack.
Kemp told the court he knew he was not welcome in her home, but on three occasions he entered the residence. He said he was trying to gather his belongings each time because she had not returned them in the months of their separation.
Kemp told the court he had no clue Jackson would be in the house and that he was unaware of what he did to cause repeated trauma, as he claims he blacked out during the main portion of the attack.
"I don't know," Kemp said. "I just panicked. I had a drug-induced psychotic episode."