Elissa Ennis, the ex-girlfriend of 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, plans to testify in court Thursday that she lied initially to police about a domestic violence incident involving Foster and Foster did not hit her on Feb. 11. Time
Reuben Foster's ex-girlfriend told a court on Thursday that she lied about an alleged domestic violence incident to get the San Francisco 49ers player in trouble because she was upset with him.
Elissa Ennis testified that the linebacker didn't drag her downstairs by her hair, hit her multiple times or throw her out of the house on Feb. 11, as she originally told police. She explained her injuries — which included a ruptured ear drum and bruising and cuts on her face, neck, hand and knee — came from a fight with another woman the day before in a road-rage incident.
Ennis gave a two-hour testimony and also admitted she had tried to get domestic violence charges against a different boyfriend in 2011 when he tried to break things off.
Under questioning from Josh Bentley, Foster's attorney, she also admitted she stole money and jewelry from Foster's home.
"I wanted him to go down. I was pissed," Ennis said of Foster, who had accused her of cheating and wanted to break up. “It was all a money scheme. I didn’t want to get this far in the news. It was about money.”
However, prosecutors aren't convinced. They believe Ennis was truthful and played 911 calls in which she stated ''my boyfriend's beating me up.''
On Thursday, she told the court she was injured Feb. 10 in San Francisco when she fought another woman in a road-rage incident. She told a detective Feb. 13 she fought a woman outside a bar after she had been drinking. She initially recanted her original story on April 25.
In the original police report, obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Foster allegedly threatened to kill her "or have someone else kill her," one of the responding officers wrote in the report. Ennis fled the residence, but Foster chased her, grabbed her cell phone and threw it. Ennis was able to flag down a motorist, who called 911.
The argument, which started the night before, grew out of the alleged use of a second cellphone as Foster accused Ennis of cheating on him, according to the police report. Foster allegedly threw Ennis' dog, which was not injured, on that night.
Foster, 23, faces charges of domestic violence, forcefully attempting to dissuade a witness and possession of an assault weapon. He was not charged with animal abuse. Foster pleaded not guilty.
49ers general manager John Lynch earlier said Foster would "not be part of the team" if he was found guilty of domestic abuse.
Judge Nona Klippen is expected to decide at the end of Thursday's session if the matter moves to a jury trial in July.
Contributing: A.J. Perez
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