JOLIET – The woman accused of murdering her former boyfriend in 2007 admitted Friday while on the witness stand to shooting him while also describing an abusive relationship.

Gabriela Escutia, 25, testified Friday in her own defense against charges of murdering Javier Barrios on Oct. 28, 2007.

Escutia gave birth to a daughter in December 2006, shortly after graduating from Plainfield South High School. That spring she took classes at Joliet Junior College while dating Ricardo Gutierrez, who is not the baby’s father.

Escutia said she and Gutierrez were “on-and-off” until he went to jail in April 2007. In June 2007, she met Barrios while she was working at a Louis Joliet Mall kiosk and they began dating.

“In the beginning, he was very attentive and seemed like a nice guy,” Escutia said.

But Barrios became increasingly abusive and violent as the summer went on, she testified.

“He’d get upset if I did things without his permission. He’d shove me ... throw things,” she said.

Escutia said Barrios shot her in the arm with a BB gun during an argument Sept. 27, 2007, and damaged the mirror in her car. The next day she picked up Gutierrez when he got out of jail.

After another week of phone arguments and attempted breakups, Barrios came by Escutia’s house to pick up his BB gun and saw she had a hickey from Gutierrez on her neck, she testified.

“He slapped me first thing. I tripped back and he started choking me,” Escutia testified.

Escutia filed a police report and later got an order of protection against Barrios. She testified his phone calls continued.

“You didn’t want Ricardo to know you’d been with [Barrios]? ... You told him he was stalking you [and] was just a guy who wanted to be with you,” Assistant State’s Attorney Tricia McKenna asked Escutia.

“Correct,” the defendant answered.

On Oct. 26, 2007, Barrios and Escutia had several phone conversations where he demanded to meet her and drive her somewhere else, but wouldn’t say where, she testified.

Escutia said she felt if she didn’t meet with Barrios, he’d continue calling her. She agreed to meet with him two days later and asked Ricardo to find her a gun the next day.

“I knew I was going to have to meet with Javy. And I wanted it for protection. In case he tried to do something ... trying to hurt me, kill me,” she said.

Escutia, Gutierrez and a female friend of Gutierrez named “Troubles” drove to meet him near the Meijer gas station at Route 59 and 135th Street in Plainfield.

Escutia said she held a pair of sweatpants Barrios wanted returned, with the gun folded inside. She wore gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints, she testified, but took one off because it was hard to get a good grip on the pistol.

Escutia testified she walked over to Barrios’ vehicle. When Barrios saw “Troubles” in Escutia’s passenger seat, he cursed at her for not coming alone, she testified. She shot him one time and the gun jammed.

“You didn’t want to kill him?” McKenna asked Escutia.

“I didn’t think that far ahead,” she testified.

Barrios was struck in the chest but climbed out through the open window of his Chevrolet Suburban before Gutierrez took the gun and shot him again.

“Ricardo said ‘Let’s go’ and I turned around to get in Javier’s truck before going back to my car,” Escutia testified.

Escutia said she didn’t call the police before the fatal meeting because they hadn’t arrested Barrios for slapping and choking her three weeks earlier.

Gutierrez was convicted of murder and sentenced to 68 years in prison in a separate trial last year. Escutia’s trial is scheduled to continue Monday.