Kozak texted woman, saying he was going to kill Andrea Farrington, hours before shooting

NEVADA - Alexander Kozak sent a text to a woman, only hours before he shot Andrea Farrington, saying he was on the 'verge of snapping” and he was going to drive home 'get my Glock and shoot this (expletive).”

'I'm tired of her games, I'm tired of being her little puppet,” Kozak texted.

Jessica German, 21, testified Tuesday that she met Kozak through a site called 'Whisper,” where people can post anonymously and chat with each other. Kozak had been telling her about a 'girl at his work who was playing him.” One day she would be fine and text him, the next day she called him a 'creep.”

German said she never thought Kozak was serious on June 12, 2015 when he said he was going to shoot this person.

Kozak sent that text at 4:34 p.m., German said. He then sent her another text at 7:11 p.m., asking her to run away with him. She replied 'LOL.”

Kozak then killed Farrington after 7:30 p.m., according to previous testimony.

Kozak, 23, of North Liberty, is charged with first-degree murder. According to testimony last week, Kozak shot Farrington three times in the back as she was working at the mall's welcome center for the Iowa Children's Museum. The defense doesn't dispute him shooting her, but argues he has a mental condition and should be convicted of a lesser charge.

Most of Tuesday's testimony focused on texts between Farrington and Kozak. They had a texting relationship, which was flirtatious and even sexual at times but Coralville Police Officer Rich Smith testified there was no evidence that the two ever had physical contact, besides talking in person.

The texting started Feb. 21, 2015 and stopped April 29, and then started again June 5 and up to day of shooting.

Smith and other investigators attempted to extract the texts and data from cellphones belonging to Farrington and Kozak. They couldn't access most of Farrington's because she had an iPhone5S and she had recently changed her pass code. If the pass code is entered wrong on the fifth attempt the phone locks up. And Apple didn't reply to investigators request for help, he said.

Police did retrieve many of Kozak's texts that had been deleted.

Alfredo Parrish showed many more texts than the prosecution displayed to the jury. Most of the texts were to show they were of a sexual nature and the interest wasn't one sided.

Cheryl Farrington, Andrea's mother, testified she didn't know much about Kozak. She knew him as 'Alex,” a guy from the mall that Andrea exchanged texts with.

Cheryl, who stayed calm and struggled not to cry on the stand, told the jury about her daughter's jaw surgery and how it affected her. Andrea had a serious under bite that wouldn't allow her teeth to meet together when she would bite down. It was difficult for her to eat and chew. She had difficulties in high school because of the deformity. She said her daughter was a cheerleader but she was bullied at Montezuma High.

The surgery changed Andrea's appearance, Cheryl said. It changed the shape of her nose and made her 'big blue eyes bigger.” Andrea had the painful procedure in February 2014.

Cheryl described her daughter as 'bubbly, bold, and upfront about things.” She loved to dye her hair. In May, 2015, she had four different hair colors ranging from pink to fire red.

She last saw her daughter on May 29 or 30 when she came home for her sister Cassie's graduation. They communicated through texts and other social media after that visit but she never saw her again. The last time she heard from Andrea was about noon on June 12. They talked about Andrea getting more hours at the museum.

Cheryl said she heard from Conner that her daughter had been shot and was at the hospital. When she arrived, the doctors took her to a private room and told her Andrea had died.

Dr. Marcus Nashelsky, a forensic pathologist with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and also an assistant state medical examiner, conducted the autopsy on Andrea. She had three entrance gunshot wounds to her back, which hit her heart - a 'devastating injury” - and injured her spinal cord and perforated her right and left lungs.

The bullets remained intact and exited her front chest area, Nashelsky, also the Johnson County medical examiner, said. She died from the gunshot wounds to her chest.

At the end of the day, Iowa State Patrol troopers testified about the short pursuit of Kozak on I-80, after he fled the mall, before stopping him near the Brady Street exit in Davenport.

Prosecutors played troopers' vehicle videos, which included footage from inside the car after they arrested Kozak, where he admitted to shooting 'Andrea Jean Farrington” because he felt 'she took advantage of me.”

Kozak in the video says he and Andrea 'sort of had a thing - sick and twisted thing” over the past three months.

He also tells them where to find the Glock 9 mm he used - in a trash compactor outside Scheels at the mall and says he threw out his wallet at a Walcott truck stop and his cell out the car window along his escape.

Trooper Russ Engstler said Kozak was calm and cooperative as he answered their questions and provided information.