Kelsey Fitzsimmons's Fiancé Justin Aylaian Testifies at Her Trial

The trial for former police officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons began on March 23, 2026, in the Essex Superior Court in Lawrence, Mass. The former North Andover police officer was involved in a domestic dispute with her firefighter finacé, Justin Aylaian, and she was shot inside her home by her fellow officers when they went to the home to serve a court order for the removal of the couple's infant, according to Boston 25 News.

Kelsey was off-duty inside her home on Phillips Brooks Road on June 30, 2025, when her fellow officers shot her at approximately 6:00 p.m. The officers claim that she pointed her firearm at them and shot her in self-defense, but she claims that she was suffering from postpartum depression and pointed the gun at herself. According to NBC Boston, Justin had accused Kelsey of domestic abuse and of threatening their child's life, and the police were at her residence to take custody of the baby via a court order.

Justin testified at Kelsey's trial on March 23. Kelesey has maintained that she pointed her gun at her own head when she was shot by her fellow officers inside her home when they were serving the custody order. The former cop's lawyer, Timothy Bradl, says that Justin and Kelsey's former colleagues were in cahoots and conspired against her. Kelsey had been on administrative leave for personal reasons, and her attorney claims part of the police department did not want her back.

"They were conspiring with him that he was going to go get this order," he said. "He was going to communicate with them, they were going to serve this order, and not to put too fine a point on it, but there were many people in that department that didn't want Ms. Fitzsimmons to go back to work."

Kelsey's defense team also denied that she pointed the gun at the officers and claimed she pointed at her own head because she was suffering from postpartum depression. Kelsey was hospitalized for several weeks after she was shot, during which she suffered from a collapsed lung, per CBS News.

Justin testified that he'd gotten a restraining order and had been staying with his parents on the weekend in question.

"It started in the morning," he said. "It was both texts and phone calls, that we were going back and forth with each other. I had requested to see my son. I wanted to make sure that he was OK. She had sent many disturbing messages back and forth to me ... I had feared for my son, and I thought that his life was in danger and [at] grave risk."

Kelsey and her defense team have opted for a bench trial, meaning there is no jury, and the judge will decide the former police officers' case. Lt. Sean Daley testified first at the trial, and he said he heard Officer Noonan shout, “Kelsey, don’t do it,” before he heard gunfire upstairs in the home. The officer had been escorting Kelsey as she packed a bag for her baby, per Boston 25 News.