Trial begins for D'Andre Howard in Hoffman Estates triple murder

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (WLS) -- "He just kept stabbing them," Amanda Engelhardt took the stand Wednesday in the triple murder trial of her former fiance, D'Andre Howard.

Howard is accused of stabbing to death Engelhardt's sister, Laura, 18; father, Alan, 57; and grandmother, Marlene Gacek, 73; in 2009 after the couple argued. She and her mother watched in horror at the family's Hoffman Estates home. Engelhardt's mother was also stabbed several times, but survived.

Prosecutor Maria McCarthy called Engelhardt to the stand. Engelhardt spoke about the days leading up to the attack and said Howard had accused her of cheating and bugging their apartment and her engagement ring.

On the day of the murders, the two had fought during the day, she said, and Howard had told her to leave with their baby. Later that night he came to the home of Engelhardt's parents, and the couple decided to separate, she said. But before he left, Howard took a knife form the family's kitchen and tied up Engelhardt and her mother, she said.

Laura, 18, grabbed the knife away and stabbed Howard. The two struggled, and then Howard gained control, stabbing the 18-year-old girl.

"My mom was screaming for him to stop," Engelhardt said. "He stabbed my mom."

Howard's defense attorney Georgeen Carson argued he was insane at the time of the attack.

"He does have a mental illness and it kept him from being able to appreciate the criminality of what he had done," she said.

Defense attorney Deana Binstock asked about Howard's behavior prior to the attack and his concern about her engagement ring.

"He thought it had been bugged by you?" she asked.

"By me or someone in the family," Engelhardt said.

Engelhardt's brother, Jeff, was at college when the family was attacked. He spoke about his sister after court.

"I'm really proud of her. She was really brave. I know it's tough for her. Again, I'm really proud of her and I love her a lot," he said.