Kelsey Fitzsimmons trial reaches turning point as prosecution rests and defense takes over
The criminal trial of former North Andover police officer Kelsey Fitzsimmons has reached a critical stage, with prosecutors resting their case on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, and the defense beginning its presentation.
Fitzsimmons is facing an assault with a dangerous weapon charge tied to a confrontation at her home on June 30, 2025, when officers arrived to serve a restraining order. Prosecutors allege she pointed a gun at officer Patrick Noonan. Fitzsimmons has argued she pointed the gun at herself, not at police, and her defense has said she was suffering from postpartum depression at the time.
This is a bench trial, not a jury trial, which means Judge Jeffrey Karp will decide the outcome. That choice has drawn attention because the case is unusually emotional and highly public, with sharply conflicting accounts at its center.
The prosecution’s witnesses over the first days of trial included officers involved in the incident, investigators who examined Fitzsimmons’ weapon, and her former fiancé, Justin Aylaian, who testified about seeking a restraining order and custody order for their child. Testimony has also focused heavily on what happened with Fitzsimmons’ firearm in the seconds before Noonan shot her.
On Wednesday, Fitzsimmons took the stand in her own defense after prosecutors rested. Her legal team is also expected to take the court to view the scene at her former home, a sign that the defense wants the judge to weigh the physical layout carefully before reaching a verdict.
The central question remains the same, and it is why this case keeps drawing so much attention: Did Fitzsimmons point her gun at a fellow officer, or at herself? That factual dispute sits at the heart of the prosecution’s theory and the defense’s response.
The case has become one of the most closely watched courtroom stories in Massachusetts this week because it combines almost every element that drives public attention: a police shooting, a former officer as the defendant, conflicting testimony, mental health issues, and a judge rather than a jury deciding what happens next.
With the prosecution now finished and the defense underway, the trial has entered the stretch where every final detail matters more. A case that has already produced intense testimony is now moving toward the moment when the judge will decide whose version of that violent encounter is credible.
