Hours after she learned two friends of theirs had been brutally slain, Jerrie Lane said she remembers talking to her estranged boyfriend on the telephone.
Gary Skaggs told her he already knew about the deaths of Danielle Wessels and Antonio "Tony" Rodriguez and he had one question for her.
"He asked me if I ever slept with Tony and that since we were friends, we should be able to tell each other the truth," Lane said.
When Lane confessed she had an affair with Rodriguez, Skaggs replied "Well, I guess you won't be (sleeping with) him anymore."
Lane, now 34, recalled the conversation Tuesday during the first-degree murder trial of Skaggs, 45.
According to the Pima County Attorney's Office, Skaggs beat the 18-year-olds to death with a machete in August 1995 because he was angry that Lane and Rodriguez had slept together while he was briefly incarcerated.
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Although a suspect from the beginning, Skaggs wasn't indicted until June 2006.
Lane, who identified herself to the jury as Skaggs' girlfriend, testified that shortly before the slayings, she, the victims, Skaggs and Skaggs' late brother, Ricky, all lived in the same apartment complex.
She got pregnant during her affair with Rodriguez, but she had an abortion prior to Gary Skaggs' return, Lane said.
Although she told some friends about the affair and the baby, Lane said she didn't tell Skaggs until after the slaying.
The day after the homicide, Lane shared with then Tucson police detective Joe Godoy the details of her phone conversation with Skaggs.
Two years later, Lane told another detective that Skaggs had bragged to her about getting away with murder.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Michael Lange, Lane testified Godoy gave her $100 on two separate occasions.
She also acknowledged that she often said things to hurt Skaggs during their tumultuous relationship.
When asked by prosecutor William McCollum about the money, Lane said Godoy told her to use the money for a motel room so he could find her if he needed to.
At that time, Lane testified she was using cocaine heavily and living in motels or staying with friends and relatives.
Lane and another witness were also asked about a machete found behind Gary Skaggs' dresser a few days after the murder.
Lane denied ever having seen the machete, and Rick Skaggs' daughter, Jessica Skaggs, 24, said she'd never seen a machete hanging above her father's couch.
Last week, one of the Skaggs' neighbors testified that within a day or two of the slayings she noticed a machete missing from above Rick Skaggs' couch.
Although no DNA could be found on the machete, court documents indicate a medical examiner believes the injuries found on the victims are consistent with those caused by a machete.
The trial is expected to continue today in Superior Court Judge John Leonardo's courtroom.
