Kelsey Fitzsimmons takes witness stand in her own defense during assault trial
LAWRENCE — Testimony is continuing Wednesday morning in the trial of former North Andover Police Officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons .
Fitzsimmons, 29, is charged with a single count of assault with a dangerous weapon . Judge Jeffrey T. Karp is presiding over the jury-waived trial in Essex Superior Court .
Prosecutors say Fitzsimmons pointed a gun at officer Patrick Noonan on June 30, 2025, while he was serving her a restraining order taken out by her then-fiancé, Justin Aylaian, and tried to fire it. Fitzsimmons maintains she tried to take her own life .
Follow updates from Wednesday's testimony below:
People to know:
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Defense attorney Tim Bradl
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Essex County prosecutor James Gubitose
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Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Detective David Strong, investigator assigned to district attorney's office
11:07 a.m. - Brief recess
Karp interrupted Fitzsimmons' testimony to ask her and the lawyers to come to sidebar.
After the discussion, he called for a brief break.
10:58 a.m. - Fitzsimmons describes day of shooting
On June 30, 2025, Fitzsimmons said she had mandated CPR training at the police department as part of her return to work from maternity leave.
She asked Aylaian to come home and watch their son while she was at work, but Aylaian said, "I can pick him up and watch him," she recalled.
Fitzsimmons said his response made her angry, and she told him he wasn't a "babysitter."
"I don't understand picking him up and watching him, that was very odd for me to hear," she said Wednesday.
When she was served the restraining order later that day, Fitzsimmons said she realized her relationship with Aylaian was over. She agreed with Bradl's characterization that he "broke up" with her by obtaining the order.
10:43 a.m. - Defense calls Fitzsimmons
After the break, Bradl rose to call Fitzsimmons to the stand.
Fitzsimmons began by discussing her family and education.
Fitzsimmons attended Fisher College in Boston with the goal of becoming a police officer, but graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic when no academies were open. In the meantime, she attended three semesters of law school.
In 2021, Fitzsimmons got hired as a corrections officer for the Essex County Sheriff. She worked there for two years before applying to North Andover police and securing a job on the force.
Fitzsimmons completed her training at the police academy in 2024, and was assigned as a field training officer at the department, meaning she accompanied a more senior officer on patrol during their shift.
She told Bradl she got her own cruiser at the end of June or July in 2024. On the job, Fitzsimmons served restraining orders and made arrests, she said.
Fitzsimmons also described meeting Aylaian and hitting it off after a few dates. They eventually got engaged and had a son last February.
10:16 a.m. - Recess
After Fitzsimmons' mother stepped off the stand, Bradl asked to be heard at sidebar.
Following the sidebar, Karp called a 15 to 20 minute break.
10:10 a.m. - Fitzsimmons' mother testifies
Defense lawyer Martha Coakley rose to call Lauren Page, Fitzsimmons' mother, to the stand.
On the stand, Page recounted the events of June 30, when Fitzsimmons was shot.
She said Fitzsimmons called her around 2:30 p.m. to tell her she was meeting Aylaian at the town common, then again around 3:30 p.m. to tell her she was going home. Page met up with her daughter at Fitzsimmons' home sometime before 4 p.m.
Fitzsimmons was "sad Justin blew her off and didn't show up to meet her," Page said. "She didn't understand why he would ask her to come, then ghost her."
Page left around 5:20 p.m. to head home, then went back to Fitzsimmons' home around 5:45 p.m., not long after officers arrived with the restraining order.
When she returned, she saw police at the home and an officer holding Fitzsimmons' son on the front porch. Page took the baby from the officer.
Police at the home told her to give the baby to Aylaian once he arrived. Aylaian handed the baby to his sister.
Page said she didn't speak to the Aylaians when they were at the home.
Coakley asked Page what she heard from the first floor when Fitzsimmons was shot.
"I heard a gentleman say 'Kelsey no Kelsey no,' then two gunshots," she said. "It was 'Kelsey no, Kelsey no' bang bang."
Page said she didn't hear her daughter say anything from the first floor.
"I was pretty upset. I was screaming," she said.
Gubitose did not cross-examine Page.
9:55 a.m. - Officer's neighbor confirms 'wack job' comment
The defense's first witness was Maureen Torrisi, Noonan's neighbor in North Andover.
She testified that she and the officer had "spoken in passing."
In August 2025, she said she spoke to Noonan and asked him about the shooting after seeing a press conference about the case, which she said "made no sense."
Noonan told her, "I'm the shooter," she recalled, which she took to mean he was the one who shot Fitzsimmons.
Torrisi told him she "couldn't imagine having to do that to a colleague," and Noonan told her he didn't have a choice, she recalled.
When Torrisi asked why officers served the order to Fitzsimmons at her home and didn't bring social services, she recalled Noonan saying Fitzsimmons was an "(expletive) wack job."
On cross-examination, Gubitose asked Torrisi about her involvement in the case and how she got in touch with the defense.
Torrisi said she contacted Mike Crawford, a YouTuber who was covering the case, about a week after speaking to Noonan.
Gubitose introduced social media posts from Torrisi showing she was following the case before the conversation with Noonan.
He showed her a comment she made on a news article where she said, "it was a setup from the get-go," adding that police and prosecutors would face "tireless scrutiny."
"We have just begun," she added in the message, linking Fitzsimmons' case to that of Karen Read .
Gubitose also showed her a comment she made on a social media post from North Andover police celebrating female members of the department.
"Let's hope they stay safe from their colleagues," she commented.
Bradl didn't ask any questions on redirect.
9:40 a.m. - Commonwealth rests
With Strong off the stand, Gubitose rose to announce that the commonwealth was resting its case.
Bradl moved for a required finding of not guilty after the close of the commonwealth's evidence, but did not argue it. Karp denied the motion.
9:33 a.m. - Bradl cross-examines Strong
On cross-examination, Bradl began by asking Strong mostly procedural questions about his response to the scene.
"It's about 20 minutes where North Andover police have exclusive control of the crime scene?" Bradl asked. "Who's in charge of the crime scene, North Andover police or Massachusetts State Police?"
Strong confirmed that State Police took over the scene when they arrived. He said he didn't know any of the North Andover police officers at the scene.
When Strong arrived, Noonan was no longer on the scene, he said. Noonan had been taken to a hospital, Strong confirmed, noting it was a common procedure in officer-involved shootings.
"That's precaution, but it also gets them out of investigative scrutiny, doesn't it?" Bradl asked.
Bradl pressed Strong on why he did not videotape Noonan or any of the officers at the scene when they were interviewed. Strong said he felt it was more important to capture everyone in the room and the audio.
Strong wrote the report that was used to support the charges against Fitzsimmons. Bradl asked him about the fact that Fitzsimmons was initially charged with armed assault with intent to murder, but prosecutors objected and Karp sustained the objection.
The questions turned to the search warrant Strong authored to get permission to enter Fitzsimmons' home.
Strong confirmed to Bradl that no North Andover police officers entered the home from the time he arrived on scene around 6:30 p.m. to when investigators got a warrant, shortly before midnight.
No North Andover officers accompanied State Police when they entered the home, Strong said.
Prosecutor Marina Moriarty had Strong review a report to refresh his memory about the timing of the warrant on re-direct examination. He confirmed that he and State Police executed the warrant around 11 p.m.
9:13 a.m. - Commonwealth calls final witness
Prosecutors called Strong to the stand Wednesday morning. He is expected to be the last witness to testify for the commonwealth.
Attorney Tim Bradl confirmed the defense would be ready to present its case after Strong's testimony.
Strong is assigned to the State Police unit in the Essex County District Attorney's office. He went to Fitzsimmons' home after the shooting, arriving around 6 p.m.
When he arrived, he went to Fitzsimmons' bedroom, where the shooting took place. He and other troopers opened a green chest on the floor of the bedroom, moving the guns and gun case that were inside onto the bed.
There were a total of three guns inside, all Sig Sauers, he said. After they were photographed, a trooper in the office secured the guns into evidence.
More about the case
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