Megan Price Trial Begins

Davenport-The defense attorney for Megan Price Tuesday told the jury that his client was once kicked so hard in the stomach by the man she's accused of killing, that she lost the couple's unborn baby.

The 21 year old from Davenport is charged with second degree murder in the January 5th death of Allen ''A.J'' Johnson. Her attorney says it's a case of self defense after a history of abuse by the victim.

Day one of testimony started Tuesday morning. A videotaped police interview with Price from the day of the stabbing was used by both the prosecution and the defense. On the tape, Price tells a detective the two had been fighting, and that Johnson got physical with her. ''He jumped on the bed, and told me he was going to hit me, I started kicking him. I was in a corner and he was coming after me, like he was going to hit, me and I stabbed him'' Price said on the tape.

Her voice monotone in the beginning, she later sobbed when asked by the detective if she stabbed him just one time. ''Yes'', she replied. "Then what did you do with the knife?'' ''I pulled it out'', she cried, asking several times if the detective knew how Johnson was doing.

It is then Price is told that Johnson ''passed away'' at Genesis East Hospital. She appears stunned, stares straight ahead for half a minute, then collapses into tears, ''I wanna be with him, I wanna go see him''.

Prosecutors played a 30 minute portion of the tape, but Defense Attorney Dave Treimer asked that the rest of the tape be played for the jury, including the part when Price finds out Johnson has died.

In his opening statement, Treimer told the jury that there was a history of abuse at the hands of Johnson. He said Price went to the hospital three times in a year, including once for a procedure to remove the dead fetus after being beaten, but says Price lied about how she was hurt and never reported any abuse.

Tremier told the jury Johnson dealt drugs, that the house he was living in was the subject of a police search warrant, and a detective testified some crack cocaine was found in the toilet when authorities arrived to investigate the stabbing.

A detective testified that traces of cocaine and pot were found in Price's system hours after the stabbing.

Treimer says Price is expected to take the witness stand in her own defense tomorrow.

If convicted Price is facing up to fifty years in prison.