Following jury selection Monday morning in a Mahoning County courtroom for an Austintown man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in Austintown more than two years ago, testimony in that man's trial has begun.

Steve Green III, 26, is charged with aggravated murder with firearm specifications, murder with firearm specifications tampering with evidence, domestic violence, attempted rape and extortion.

Police say Green shot his ex-girlfriend, Ashley Lockhart. Austintown Police told 21 News that the two had been together for a few years and the incident was supposedly related to a dispute between relationship issues and their child.

FBI agent Ronald Helmick took the stand and provided the jury with a disc of phone conversations between Green and Lockhart, which contained evidence of an abusive relationship and alleged stalking from Green.

At one point in the recorded conversation, the court heard Green tell Lockhart that he wanted to be the one to kill her. When Lockhart asked why, Green can be heard replying that he wanted "the satisfaction" of "watching [her] soul leave [her] body."

Additionally, testimony came from Lockhart's grandmother and a neighbor who testified to the court that he witnessed the shooting at Compass West Apartments.

Green has been held in the county jail on a $1 million bond since his arrest in October 2021. 

According to Austintown Police, Green had threatened to kill Lockhart more than once.