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The former fiancé of the Rockville athletic trainer who was killed in February by a friend claiming self defense told a jury Tuesday afternoon that the father of her two children had been abusive to her.

Jennifer Blackburn testified at the trial of Michael Wayne Adams, 44, of Rockville, who is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Jason David Hadeed, 33. The shooting occurred Feb. 8 in the King Farm neighborhood.

Defense attorney Robert Bonsib has said Hadeed had a violent temper and contends that Adams was afraid for his life when he shot Hadeed, who had punched Adams twice and forced his way into the defendant's home to collect on an $18,000 gambling debt.

Blackburn testified that she and Hadeed met in 2000, and lived together in King Farm from January 2006 until November 2007 with their children, but broke up in March 2007 after seeking counseling following some abusive encounters.

Bonsib asked if she had ever called the police on Hadeed.

"My son called the police because Jason and I were yelling and he was scared," she said, dabbing her eyes with a tissue. During that incident "sometime in 2007,"Hadeed was drunk and had accidentally pulled her down the stairs, Blackburn said.

Bonsib asked if Hadeed had ever "put his hands on her" and she said he had.

Prosecutors allege Adams shot Hadeed in the back while they were in Adams' apartment and then pursued his victim outside, where here stood over him and fired more shots. Several of Adams' neighbors testified on Monday that they heard arguing coming from the defendant's apartment and a pleading voice before hearing apparent gunshots the night Hadeed was killed.

Adams' mother, Dody Pierce of Vienna, Va., also testified Tuesday saying her son came to her crying and trembling about an hour after the shooting.

"It was almost like he was short-circuited," Pierce said. "He was shaking a lot. He was all over the place, with tears, with shaking." She also said she took him for a psychological evaluation a month before the shooting but he was not admitted.

Pierce said her son had money troubles. She loaned Adams $30,000 in 2007 and testified that he told her his business was going under and that people were after him for money. She also recalled her only meeting with Hadeed, which occurred in December of 2007 at Hadeed's home in King Farm.

"He indicated that he knew people that could hurt people, but that Michael was no good to them dead," she said, implying that Adams could be harmed to elicit payment. She also said Hadeed tried to set up a payment plan for Adams where he would pay back the people he owed in $1,000 monthly installments.

Pierce said that after this meeting, Adams moved in with her for some time.

"Michael was afraid," she said.

Other witnesses called on the first day of the defense case included Adams' brother Blair Adams, private investigator Warren Rineker, Emily Khayami, a friend of Blackburn and Hadeed, and Alan Leroy Stein Jr., Hadeed's former business partner.

Rineker told the jury about text and voice messages recovered from Adams' cell phone.

Text messages from Hadeed in the week leading up to the shooting indicated Adams was not returning calls or text messages, and Hadeed was becoming increasingly frustrated, Rineker said.

Hadeed was demanding Adams' laptop and flat screen television as partial repayment, according to transcripts of voice messages left on Adams' cell phone. In a Jan. 10 text message Hadeed wrote, "call me I want the TV."

In a voice message from the day before, Hadeed said, "I'm going to unplug the [expletive] TV, so be ready," according to Rineker.

In a text message to Adams the morning he was shot, Hadeed wrote: "ur not a man of ur word. U will get what u dish out. Karma is a bitch."

The trial began on Nov. 12, and could last another three days before jury deliberations begin.