DALLAS — "I did, but not intentionally," said Nestor Hernandez, the defendant.
He admitted, under oath, to killing Annette Flowers and Jacqueline Pokuaa, two employees at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, in October 2022.
On Wednesday afternoon, he testified in his capital murder trial.
Hernandez said he was at the hospital because his then on-again, off-again girlfriend had just delivered their baby. They were on the fourth floor, the postpartum ward, inside the room when they got into an argument.
Hernandez said he carried Selena Villatoro's bags into the hospital, knowing his gun was inside her makeup bag.
When Villatoro testified on Tuesday, she said Hernandez was drinking and they got into an argument.
"He was saying that whoever walked into the room was going to die with us," Villatoro said. "He was saying that we were going to make the news."
But on Wednesday when Hernandez took the stand, his testimony did not line up with her story. He claimed Villatoro got up to use the restroom, and they were arguing about whether Hernandez was the father or not.
That's when he recalls Pokuaa entering the room.
He said he had the gun in his right hand, as he hit Villatoro with his left hand. Hernandez said Pokuaa tried to stop the fight, when he shot her.
"She got in between us. She yelled stop," Hernandez said. "It all happened. It went real slow."
"I panicked. I panicked," Hernandez said. "I opened up the door and I shot with my right hand. I shot out the door, boom, boom twice."
He told the jury he did not know Flowers, the nurse, was in the hallway when he shot and killed her.
Hernandez's toxicology test showed he had methamphetamine in his body. He admits to doing the drug on Thursday, but said he was already coming down from the high.
During cross-examination, the prosecutor replayed body camera footage from Sergeant Robert Rangel, the officer who shot Hernandez at the scene.
"You just said, 'I got a hostage, man,'" said lead prosecutor, George Lewis.
"I don't recall saying that," responded Hernandez.
At the time of the shooting, Hernandez had two prior prison sentences. He was on house arrest after being released in 2021.
Family and friends of Flowers and Pokuaa have been in the courtroom the entire trial. Some left the room during Hernandez's testimony, frustrated.
The state and defense rested their cases on Wednesday. On Thursday, the jury is expected to hear closing arguments and head into deliberation.
If Hernandez is found guilty of capital murder, he will face an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole. The prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in this case.