Kristopher Prudhomme called his girlfriend "Mama Hex" in one of the text exchanges read aloud to a New London jury Wednesday.

The girlfriend, Lauren Muskus, called Prudhomme "Daddy Hex." Their baby, which they planned to have in a year or two, was to be "Evie Hex."

Norwich police Detective Kyle Besse read aloud the texts the couple exchanged via Facebook's Messenger application Wednesday as the state continued its attempt to prove Prudhomme, 30, of Houston, Texas, guilty of a bizarre set of crimes in a Norwich apartment that left another man legless.

The exchanges between Prudhomme and Muskus are sprinkled with heart emojis, talk of marriage and breastfeeding, and hints of the jealous rage the state alleges drove Prudhomme to attack his friend and former housemate, Michael Lovering, on Oct. 22, 2016. Prudhomme has pleaded not guilty to first-degree assault, second-degree assault, intentional cruelty to persons, first-degree assault and tampering with evidence.

The state alleges that after Lovering confessed to Prudhomme that he slept with Muskus, Prudhomme used a corset string to choke Lovering, then left him, incoherent and moaning, in an unnatural position for 12 to 14 hours, resulting in a loss of circulation that necessitated amputation of both legs.

Prudhomme called 911 to report that Lovering had a red ring around his neck and had tried to kill himself. Lovering could barely communicate with first responders and was in an induced coma in the Intensive Care Unit at Hartford Hospital for several days.

Four days later, on Oct. 26, Muskus texted Prudhomme that she had received a "thumb's up" text from Lovering indicating he was alive. As the couple's text exchange continued, Prudhomme wrote that he had "a crushing realization that I saved the life of a drug abusing, lying, rapist." He texted that it hurt him that Muskus had "put out a spell" to help Lovering recover.

"Where I come from, we kill rapists by hanging," Prudhomme wrote.

Prudhomme was working as a draftsman at Electric Boat and had offered Lovering, whom he had met in the Goth music scene in New Orleans, a place to live, according to testimony.

Lovering, then 35, had struggled with drug and alcohol abuse and was attempting to get a new start after a close friend in Louisiana died of a gunshot wound to the head under mysterious circumstances. Though the friend's death was ruled a suicide, people suspected Lovering had something to do with it, according to testimony.

But by the day after the incident, Prudhomme was telling friends he had asked Lovering to leave after learning Lovering had sex with Muskus while Prudhomme was at work. He texted about Lovering's deterioration over the three weeks that he lived in Norwich and said Lovering had a broken rib and a foot infection that caused his blood to turn gray. An emergency room doctor who treated Lovering testified he had no infection when he arrived at the hospital that night.

Lovering, now living with his mother in Denham Springs, La., flew to Connecticut this week to testify at Prudhomme's trial. He said that after telling Prudhomme he slept with Muskus, he was sitting in his bedroom, his legs bent at the knees and his feet tucked under his buttocks, facing Muskus, who was sitting on his bed as they talked. He said he felt a pressure around his neck, everything went black and, the next thing he knew, he woke up in Hartford Hospital with no legs. He said he doesn't know who hurt him but that Prudhomme was the only other person in the apartment.

The jury also heard Wednesday from Dr. Deepti Chopra, a psychiatrist who examined Lovering in the ICU at Hartford Hospital on Oct. 27, 2016, after his breathing tube was removed. She said that after speaking with Lovering, his mother and his brother and talking on the phone with his girlfriend, Stormie Robinson, she determined Lovering, who now had no legs, was not depressed or suicidal.

Chopra testified she spent about 30 minutes on the case, saw no evidence of a suicide attempt or hanging and that Lovering talked about coming to New England for a job opportunity, which indicated he had "hope" for the future. She said he had delirium and was agitated and inattentive, which was natural considering the amount of medication he was taking, and that she prescribed Haldol, an antipsychotic drug, to take as needed.

The trial resumes Monday, when prosecutor Stephen M. Carney is expected to present a witness from Facebook. It is unclear when Muskus will be called to the witness stand.

The defense, through its cross-examination, has been trying to show that Lovering was a heavy drinker and was suicidal, and is expected to call witnesses after the state rests its case.

k.florin@theday.com