NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) -- Anna Bell's older sister took the stand Tuesday in the second day of Emily Defries' murder trial.
The attorney for Defries, who has been charged with the second degree murder of 20-month-old Anna, suggested the toddler's older sister was responsible for her death.
During cross-examination, Anna's sister admitted to having a rocky relationship with Anna.
But when Defries' attorney, James Broccoletti, asked if she had ever hit the toddler, she replied, "I don't remember. No."
The sister testified at some point during the morning of May 18, 2014, the day Anna died, she had gone into her room, but did not hurt her.
Broccoletti had the sister point out the hard, wooden surfaces in her sister's bedroom.
The little girl, holding a tissue and a stuffed animal while on the stand, said she found her younger sister lying on the ground at the bottom of the stairs and saw Defries standing over her crying.
Brandon Belle testified that Defries, his ex-fiance, called him frantically to say Anna fell down a flight of stairs at their home on Gregory Drive.
Prosecutors say Anna's severely fractured skull could not have come from a fall down a 13 foot carpeted staircase and accuse Defries of deliberately smashing the child's head in.
It's unclear whether Defries, who used to serve in the Navy, will testify in her own defense.
