On the second day of trial for five accused cop killers, five defense attorneys hammered witness Theresa Coogle, pressing her to explain variations in law enforcement summaries of her statements in 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2011 about the murder of V.I. Police Officer Wendell Williams.

A quiet, seemingly shell-shocked Coogle kept insisting on the main details of her story but frequently said she did not recall her exact words and admitted to memory problems from the trauma of witnessing the murder at age 17 and from years of subsequent alcohol, cocaine and MDMA use.

Sharima Clercent, 34, of Estate Two Williams; Jose G. Ventura, 43, of Estate Whim; Maximiliano Velasquez, 40, of Estate Clifton Hill; Juan G. Velasquez, 31; and Jose M. Rivera Jr., 39, are on trial for the June 2001 murder of Williams. (See related links below)

Gordon Rhea, court appointed attorney for defendant Jose Rivera, pressed Coogle as to why, in a 2004 statement, an FBI agent wrote that Coogle said defendant Max Velasquez picked her up and took her to the site of the killing, while in later statements, Coogle said he drove earlier in the night, but called her and told her to drive out and meet him. "

"The statements have been completely different as to who picked who up … what vehicle was used, correct? He took you out, that is what it says, correct?"

"I don’t recall. I could have said picked up instead of dropped off," Coogle said.

Rhea also pressed Coogle on passages in one report, where officers said Coogle told them the victim’s hands were "handcuffed" behind him, while other statements say his hands were "tied" or in "plastic ties."

"Handcuffed and tied; that’s different from plastic wrist ties, isn’t it?" Rhea asked.

"I do not recall saying handcuffs," Coogle said.

The agents who wrote the report were not presented as witnesses.

Rhea also pointed to one statement where agents wrote Williams was tortured with electric stun guns rather than electric cables, reading: "Coogle advised the officer was tortured with stun guns."

"I do not recall telling the officer that," Coogle said.

Several attorneys, including Rhea, noted that FBI agents wrote in the first report that Coogle could not recall seeing Williams dismembered but saw him taken in "plastic bags" (plural) to a boat, while in a later report, she said she did see him dismembered.

Coogle said she had memory problems and was traumatized by the event.

Asked about another example, where she had said she could not recall who shot Williams in her first statement, but later remembered, Coogle said "That is correct, but I was also traumatized. I took therapy and counseling to deal with it. … I put things behind me."

Most of the five defense attorneys, if not each of them, questioned Coogle on her own history of drug and alcohol use, on her relationship with Max Velasquez and her general fitness as a mother. Coogle acknowledged that she drank a lot and used marijuana, cocaine and MDMA for a number of years after the killing and that these, and witnessing the killing, had affected her memory.

When one defense attorney suggested she was high the night of the murder, she insisted she started using drugs and drinking heavily only after the killing.

After each of the defense attorneys had their turn at cross-examination, Assistant Attorney General Kippy Roberson had Coogle recount the events of the day, leading her through each of the several police summaries of statements and more recent transcripts of her statements. Through his questioning, he prompted Coogle to point out she identified the same defendants in all her statements. And that in each statement Williams had his hands bound behind his back, was tortured with electricity and taken in bags to a boat.

The trial continues Thursday and is expected to last at least several more days.