CHARLOTTE N.C. (Court TV)— Testimony in Rae Carruth's capital murder trial ended dramatically Tuesday with the mother of a key prosecution witness contradicting her daughter's ugly portrait of the football player.

"I never saw him raise his voice, I never saw him lose control," Barbara Turner told the jury, which just four days earlier heard her daughter, Amber, describe Carruth as a bully who threatened to kill her if she refused to abort his baby.

Barbara Turner testified that her daughter never told her of that pregnancy, nor the abortion, prompting Carruth's defense to suggest Amber Turner made up the story to hurt the man who scorned her.

She did say that she was aware of an earlier pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage — a record of which the defense introduced into evidence later Tuesday. No documentation of the alleged abortion has been submitted to the jury.

The older woman, speaking with a quivering lip and a breaking voice, said she was troubled by taking the stand against her daughter, but she appeared eager to help Carruth.

"I love you," she mouthed to him as she walked from the court Tuesday morning.

Her testimony came on the 27th day of trial. Jurors are scheduled to hear closing arguments Thursday.

Carruth is accused of masterminding the November 1999 drive-by shooting of Cherica Adams, a 24-year-old then seven months pregnant with his baby. Prosecutors say the motive was money: Carruth did not want to pay child support. Adams delivered a son, but succumbed to her injuries four weeks later.

Because Turner was one of the strongest prosecution witnesses, Carruth's attorney, David Rudolf, spent much of his surrebuttal case trying to discredit her. He called friends of Carruth who described her as obsessively jealous and conniving. He pointed out that Turner initially vouched for Carruth's character to reporters and investigators, and only changed her tune when she found out he had a new girlfriend.

Calling Turner's mother to the stand was yet another attempt to cast doubt on her story, and it was an attempt that disturbed Turner.

The 21-year-old told Court TV that she was not angry with her mother for taking the stand, but was angry with Rudolf for putting her mother in that uncomfortable position.

But Barbara Turner became most emotional on the stand when describing happy memories of Carruth, not her relationship with her daughter. She recalled how in 1996, Carruth, then a star wide receiver with the University of Colorado, befriended her son, who was a fan. She said he agreed to come as a guest to a middle school football banquet where she and Amber met him.

He soon became a regular at the Turner's home, sharing meals, playing with her two sons, and eventually, showing a romantic interest in Amber. Turner said the pair's relationship was "family oriented" — they liked to hang around the house, but when they did go out, she and her sons often went along.

"I have very fond memories of those days. It was a very happy time in our home life. I kind of picture us all curled up on the couch watching TV," she said, her voice catching in her throat. "It was just a very nice time."

She described Carruth as a respectful young man who had a positive impact on her boys. She said he steered them away from using drugs or alcohol and encouraged them to help her around the house.

Turner said that because of her esteem for Carruth she let her daughter accompany Carruth to North Carolina, where he was to start his career with the NFL's Panthers. The move strained the couple's relationship, she said, and Carruth called her at work several times to discuss problems he was having with Amber.

On one such occasion in fall 1997, he told her that Amber was pregnant but too afraid to tell her. Turner admitted she was "dismayed" at the idea of the young couple starting a family, but said Carruth and her daughter were excited. Later, however, Amber Turner miscarried, she said. She further testified that their relationship fell apart that winter, and her daughter moved home to Colorado.

Amber Turner testified Friday that she briefly returned to Charlotte that spring. During that March visit, she said, she became pregnant. She testified that when she told Carruth the news, he threatened to have her killed unless she aborted the baby.

Barbara Turner said she did not remember her daughter's trip to Charlotte and never knew of what the defense termed "this alleged pregnancy." She said she found out while watching her daughter's televised testimony Friday.

She said she and her sons remain close to Carruth and are very concerned about him.

Also testifying was defense investigator Ron Guerette, who analyzed phone records subpoenaed after Turner took the stand. The records reflect more than 25 hours of phone conversations in fewer than four months between Turner and Michelle Wright, the mother of Carruth's first child. Turner said on the stand that she and Wright, who lives in Sacramento, became friends after Carruth's arrest.

The defense also called Carruth's cousin, Tiffany Adams, to attack Amber Turner's credibility. Adams lived with Carruth and Turner in Charlotte in fall 1997. She said Turner was jealous even of her cousinly relationship with Carruth. Adams eventually left Charlotte because Turner was so unwelcoming, she testified.

Adams also said that though she lived with Carruth during spring 1998, when Turner alleges she was forced into an abortion, she heard nothing about a pregnancy.

Adams also echoed other defense witnesses who said Turner arrived in Charlotte after Carruth was released on bail, telling everyone that only she knew how to care for him properly. Adams said Carruth did not want her there, but Turner could not be dissuaded.

Also called to the stand by the defense was psychiatrist Jonathan Gould who wrote an evaluation of Carruth's personality and behavior. The doctor said he interviewed Carruth and 25 family members, friends and acquaintances, and heard again and again that Carruth was a gentle, calm man not prone to violence.