Meagan Foley told Jamel Campbell in a text message on Dec. 9, 2008, that she cared about him, according to testimony Monday in New London Superior Court.

"Gotta keep track of the 1s I care 4," said the text she sent out at 1:09 p.m.

Eight minutes later, at 1:17 p.m., she sent a message to another man, Ryan Wright, suggesting they rent a hotel room that night so that Wright could kill Campbell.

Christmas was coming, but Foley said she knew Wright, who had been feuding with Campbell, wasn't talking about the holidays when he texted her that he needed "a place where I can go and wrap my presents up."

"How bout a ho tell," Foley said in her text message reply.

The 29-year-old former bank teller from New London has been held at the Janet S. York Correctional Institution since she was charged in February 2009 with conspiring to murder Campbell at the Ramada Inn in Groton on Dec. 9, 2008.

Wright, 33, is on trial for murder, and on Monday, Foley testified against him in an effort to get a better deal in her own case.

Prosecutor Paul J. Narducci spent the morning walking Foley through a seven-page document containing text messages she sent that day to Wright and Campbell. The tone of the texts at times sounded flirtatious and light-hearted. Foley told the jury repeatedly that she was just "playing a part" to protect herself and her family.

On the witness stand, she looked more like the bank teller than the woman accused of luring a close friend to his death. She had changed from prison garb into slacks, a button-down shirt and cardigan sweater and wore dark-rimmed glasses.

Still, the jurors could hear the clanking of Foley's leg irons as a correction officer escorted her back to the courthouse lockup at the end of the day. They also heard details of her prison life, including the bad food and the small cell, when Wright's attorney, Sebastian O. DeSantis, cross-examined her.

Foley testified she was longtime friends of both men, who she said were feuding because Wright had slept with Campbell's girlfriend while Campbell was incarcerated. Foley said Wright had been talking about killing Campbell and had acquired a gun. She said at one point, he planned to go to the Branford Manor apartment where Campbell lived with his girlfriend and their son and start shooting.

"He said he didn't care who got in the way," Foley testified. "I told him he was crazy."

Wright also proposed waiting for Campbell outside of the home on Shaw Street in New London where Foley lived with her mother and younger brother, according to Foley.

"Then he said he would come inside my mother's house and start shooting," she testified.

Foley said she didn't go to the police because she thought they wouldn't believe her. She gave Campbell money and arranged for him to rent the hotel room, where she said they would be able to "chill" together, according to testimony. Campbell went to the room, and when he texted her that he was hungry and was leaving to get something to eat, she urged him to wait.

"Dude, please just gimme a minute," Foley texted Campbell at 11:13 p.m.

At 11:15, Foley was elsewhere, with her boyfriend, when Wright allegedly shot Campbell six times in the head and torso, according to testimony.

At 11:20, Wright texted her with one word: "Done."

Ten minutes later, Wright texted, "I love you," and Foley responded, "U 2 babe."

The next morning, Foley reported to work at Liberty Bank. She testified that she sent Campbell a text message so that police would not be suspicious when they looked at his phone. She said she "hoped" he would respond but knew he would not. His body was discovered about 10 a.m.

By the end of the work day, Groton Town police had identified Foley as a person of interest and spoken to her at the bank. They interviewed her a second time that night, and she was arrested two months later after police obtained records of the phone messages and prepared an arrest warrant.

Foley's father retained attorney Averum J. Sprecher, who arranged for her to cooperate with the state in exchange for consideration in her own case. She faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted but said she is hoping for a shorter prison sentence. Under questioning from Narducci, the prosecutor, Foley admitted that she has received no promises from the state.

The trial resumes today.

k.florin@theday.com