Kiera Bergman’s roommate takes the stand for Day 2 of the murder trial

On Day 2 of the murder trial of Kiera Bergman's ex-boyfriend, their roommate described Bergman's state of mind the day she disappeared.
Published: Aug. 10, 2022 at 7:43 PM MST
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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- It was day two of the Kiera Bergman murder trial, with one of the key witnesses in the case taking the stand — Kiera’s roommate Destiny. She was the one person who saw a lot of the interactions between Kiera and her ex-boyfriend, Jon Clark, before her death. Jon is charged with 2nd-degree murder.

Jon was living with Kiera and Destiny at the time, and we knew there was some tension with finances and paying rent, but now we know exactly what was happening between Kiera and her ex in the hours before she disappeared.

The prosecution focused on a tumultuous relationship, and the defense focused on Kiera’s fragile state of mind. Destiny’s the key to learning more about Kiera and Jon’s relationship.

“Did you then have an opportunity to observe the relationship between Jon and Kiera?” the prosecutor asked. “Yes,” Destiny replied.

“Did you personally ever witness them arguing about little things?” the attorney asked. “Yes,” Destiny said.

Destiny was Kiera’s roommate at their Phoenix apartment, where at the time of Kiera’s disappearance, Jon was living with them too. She said there was ongoing drama about paying rent. “We were basically addressing the situation, the awkward tension that was going on in the house between Jon and Kiera and myself,” Destiny testified.

She said Kiera was stressed not just about finances but also thought she might be pregnant and told Destiny she “didn’t want to be here.” “I didn’t take it as she was going to kill herself or anything, or take it to that extreme because when we go through things, we’re little dramatic and we say things like that all the time,” Destiny said.

Because no cause of death was determined after Kiera’s body was found a month later in the desert, Destiny was questioned more by both sides about Kiera’s state of mind. Destiny said she never believed Kiera was seriously considering taking her own life.

On the day Kiera vanished, Jon came to pick her up from work, the same place Destiny worked. Destiny recalled on their lunch break, Kiera was on the phone with Jon.

“What was her demeanor like while she was talking to Jon on the phone?” the prosecutor asked. “It was tense, they were verbally going back and forth,,” Destiny said. “I heard her yelling, and they were yelling back and forth with each other.”

Destiny said she got home later that afternoon, and that’s when Jon told her Kiera had left after an argument. Hours later, Destiny said Kiera finally texted her back, saying she was with a guy she met at the store, which Destiny said seemed odd after having a heart-to-heart with Kiera recently.

“During that conversation with Kiera, did you ever learn anything about a new guy she had met?” the attorney asked. “No,” Destiny said.

The prosecution claims Jon sent that text message from Kiera’s phone inside their apartment while Kiera was missing. Destiny said what she found most odd was Kiera didn’t have her purse, which is now in evidence, and was brought to the courtroom.

“Is her ID still in there?” the attorney asked. “Yeah,” Destiny said, holding it up to the jury. “Her bank card is right here.”

Destiny said she spent most of August looking for Kiera with friends and family, and Kiera’s family called her when her body was found. Destiny’s testimony is not over. She’ll be back on the stand Thursday as the defense is still questioning her.