Friend: Accused killer 'blacked out' after stabbing

Troy Whye recalled stabbing his girlfriend but said he "blacked out" before kissing her forehead and leaving their Lindenwold apartment, a friend of his testified Thursday in a Camden County courtroom.

"He said he started stabbing her and then blacked out," the friend, Ted Robertson, testified.

Whye, 39, is on trial for murder and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly killing Krystal Skinner, 23, on March 26, 2008, in front of the couple's toddler.

In the second day of testimony, Assistant Prosecutor Sally Smith also questioned another friend, Michael Thompson, who said he had called Whye to see what happened to Skinner.

"I just snapped," Thompson recalled Whye responding.

Earlier in the day, Whye's niece, Asenith, who babysat for the couple's son, testified that Whye had made threatening remarks before the slaying.

Both Whye and Skinner had confided in Asenith Whye about their relationship, she said. Skinner desperately tried to end it, even planning to call police if Whye did not leave her alone.

Days before the slaying, Asenith Whye testified, Whye and Skinner were at her apartment when Skinner warned: "Troy, you better stay away from me."

Later that night, the niece said, Troy Whye returned to her apartment and was pacing when he said, "If she keeps acting like that, I'm going to have to kill her. She's getting on my nerves."

"You go to church, so pray for me," Asenith Whye remembered her uncle saying. "You could tell something was on his mind."

Skinner, an honors student, took classes at Rutgers University-Camden, worked part-time at a deli, and served an internship with the state Division of Youth and Family Services.

Troy Whye did not work, but often dropped off their son, John, nearly 3 at the time, to stay with his niece for the day.

Asenith Whye testified that Skinner told her she had found knives and a rock hidden throughout her apartment. Whye said her uncle said he had put the knives where his son could not get to them.

Asenith Whye had plans to help Skinner change the apartment locks March 25, she said, but Skinner did not meet her as planned. The next day she called police, and Skinner's body was discovered, with her son kneeling nearby, stroking his mother's hair.

Whye, who is legally representing himself at trial, appeared Thursday in a black suit and remained seated as he questioned witnesses.

He noted that he told Asenith Whye's mother that she was gay and that she had threatened to retaliate for the disclosure. Asenith Whye testified that she was angry at the time - about three years before the slaying - but she had since grown close to her uncle.

Troy Whye consulted with his court-appointed lawyer, Albert Alfonso, as he questioned his niece. Superior Court Judge Samuel Natal reminded Whye that he had to have a proper legal foundation for questions.

The trial is in recess until Tuesday.