Victim’s sister testifies in 2nd trial of convicted killer

Shellie Nations cried Thursday on the witness stand as a prosecutor placed her sister’s boots in front of her.

“The last day I seen her, she had that on,” Nations said.

The prosecution said Danny Hembree kept the boots, along with some of Randi Saldana's jewelry, as a token of the woman he strangled. Prosecutors say he tied up her body and burned it.

Hembree's attorneys went on the attack. That led to a heated cross examination while the jury was out. They tried to present Nations as a woman who supported her sister's drug habit.

“No, I didn't. No I didn't,” Nations said. “Don't put words in my month.”

The emotions spilled over during a break in the trial. A face-to-face encounter between Nations and Hembree's family prompted the judge to warn everyone about witness intimidation.

Nations then watched as Hembree's videotaped confession to investigators was played for the jurors. In the interview, he confessed to killing Randi Saldana and Heather Catterton. Hembree is already on death row for Catterton's murder.

In the tape, he said he lured Saldana to his home by promising to get her crack.

Hembree later said he killed Saldana by accident. He said he choked her during consensual sex.

There will be no testimony Friday. The trial is suspended until Monday morning.