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Key witnesses say accused cop killer was 'frantic' and 'nervous' moments after deadly shooting

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — In the third day of the murder trial of Rahmael Holt – the man accused of shooting and killing New Kensington Police Officer Brian Shaw – key witnesses took the stand to provide insight into the timeline of events the night of the incident.

>>MORE TRIAL COVERAGE: Accused cop killer wrote letters to key witness asking to change his story, prosecutors say

Over the first few days, the prosecution has brought up witnesses who helped Holt, knowingly or unknowingly, move from place to place over the course of a few days. So far, more than 60 pieces of evidence have been entered, but jurors saw more of a glimpse into those firsthand accounts on Wednesday.

Two witnesses staying with Lakita Cain and Taylor Mitchell the night Shaw was murdered said Holt appeared frantic, nervous and not himself moments after gunfire erupted on Nov. 17, 2017.

Timeline of shooting death of Officer Brian Shaw, arrest and trial of suspect Rahmael Holt

Michael Luffey and his fiancé Holly Clemens spent much of the morning testifying.

Luffey told the jury he saw Holt with a handgun weeks prior to the shooting death of Shaw. He also said the night of the shooting, Holt came back with a cut on his right hand.

A few hours later, Luffey listened in on a phone call with Holt.

"He said he was sorry for what he put us through," Luffey said. "He didn't mean for this to happen."

Meanwhile, Clemens said in the hours that followed, she overheard Cain saying that she needed Holt's cousin – Lisa Harrington – to come over because there was a gun in the basement, and she needed Harrington to remove it.

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However, Clemens told the defense that she never brought up that information to law enforcement until last week.

Holt's girlfriend, Vanessa Portis, took the stand Wednesday and said Holt's cousin dropped him off at her house the night of the shooting. She took him to his mother's house in Homewood but said she never suspected anything was wrong or that he was involved in a possible shooting.

A fourth witness, who used to date Holt's cousin, said Holt showed up at their house that weekend. But when they found out he was wanted in the shooting of Shaw, they told him he had to leave and took him to a house in Hazelwood.

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