MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Former Minnesota Viking Joe Senser took the stand Wednesday in his wife Amy’s hit-and-run trial.
Senser testified about conversations he had with his wife the night Anousone Phantavong was struck and killed.
Joe Senser did not have to be called to the stand as a witness because spouses have marital privilege. Amy Senser waived that marital privilege, and Joe Senser was called actually called to the stand as a witness by the prosecution. He testified that he was very upset with Amy Senser on the night of Aug. 23, 2011, when she failed to pick up their two daughters and friends at a Katy Perry concert at the Xcel Energy Center.
She told him over the phone repeatedly that night that she was lost, but there was no evidence she had been drinking that night.
Joe Senser said in testimony on Wednesday that the morning after the crash, at around 7:30 a.m., Amy Senser told him “I think you are going to be mad at me, I think I hit a construction cone.”
Senser testified he was upset said “You take care of it,” telling his wife she need to call the insurance company.
Then Joe Senser said he looked at the damage further and thought his wife had hit a deer. As his concern grew, Joe Senser went to wcco.com, where he saw a report of the hit-and-run. He then called his wife, had her look at the wcco.com video and said to her “Were you involved in this? Are you sure you hit a construction cone?” he said in Wednesday’s testimony.
“She was adamant about it, there’s no way this was me,” Joe Senser added in testimony.
Joe Senser also testified in court that in their 22 years of marriage, Amy Senser has never lied to him.
Brittani Senser, Amy’s stepdaughter, also was back on the stand Wednesday.
Once again, her testimony was gripping and powerful. Brittani Senser told the jury, despite her father telling her to trust him days after the accident, she said she didn’t.
She said she was mad that her stepmother and father weren’t admitting who was behind the wheel.
Brittani Senser, 28, told the jury she felt like Amy Senser and her father, Joe, were leaving it up to the State Patrol investigators to try and figure out who was driving — fueling speculation one of the daughters, including her, could be to blame — in hopes no one would be charged.
During the cross examination she said, “For people to think I killed someone made me angry,” and she said she was mad her dad didn’t stand up for her.
On Tuesday, Brittani told the jury that information about Amy being the driver came out only after she gave Amy’s attorney an ultimatum — that she would go to police.
The defense attorney questioned Brittani about her motive, inferring she was concerned about her career as an aspiring singer and performer, and pointing out she lost a public appearance because of all the speculation.
Another interesting development was when Brittani told the jury she knows the victim’s brother.
She found that out, days after the crash when a mutual friend called her and asked her if she was the one driving.
The jury also found out about an awkward moment — after Amy admitted being the driver — when Brittani ran into her, at a mall. It was in December.
When speculation re-surfaced that one of her daughter’s may have been driving, it was at a time when new court documents were released and a witness said she saw a woman with blond hair driving the SUV.
Brittani said Amy laughed it off, which she said seemed strange.
She told the jury she believed her stepmother reacted that way as a defense mechanism, but also because she believed she would get away with it.
Joe Senser testified that after the accident, Brittani said she feared for her life and had been threatened, although it wasn’t exactly clear by who. He said he had to sleep outside her home in his car for two nights, something that Brittani Senser later said in testimony was false. She testified that she never felt threatened, something that Joe Senser said is not true.
Joe Senser is expected to be back on the stand to continue testimony on Thursday.
