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SALT LAKE CITY -- A man's recorded confession riveted the jury in an assault trial in Salt Lake City Tuesday. He is accused of stabbing the teen with a knife while another man assaulted the victim with a battle-ax.
The defendant and his family cried as the jury heard the taped 2008 phone call Augustine made from jail.
During the call, Augustine tells his mother about his arrest. When she asks why he was arrested, he says, "I got caught. I went after a kid and cut him up."
His mother asks again why he did it, to which Augustine responds, "I don't know."
Augustine also told a detective who interviewed him after the assault that he doesn't know what came over him and that "I'm a little frightened of myself at this point."
On the witness stand, that detective said Augustine claimed he didn't know the victim, Justin Ennis. He said Augustine thought he had contracted an STD from a woman and Ennis was the last person who had sexual contact with that woman.
Augustine's friend told KSL News she never thought he could be so violent.
"[He's] the sweetest, kindest, loving best friend I ever had -- him and Scott both," Mikaela Page said.
Page was referring to Scott Stapley, who was convicted of the same crime in 2009. Stapley assaulted Ennis with a medieval battle-ax.
Augustine is accused of stabbing Ennis several times with a knife after the two men lured him out of his home.
Defense attorneys say Augustine, who is charged with attempted murder, did not intend to kill Ennis and that he was suffering from emotional distress at the time of the crime.
The trial continues Wednesday, when Augustine is expected to take the stand.
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
