Rabadi’s widow: Accused killer ‘demeaning’ when they broke up; Prosecution rests case

Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday with the widow of the man stabbed to death calling accused killer Jacob Klein’s behavior “demeaning” when she ended their relationship years ago.

Klein is accused of stabbing Philip Rabadi to death in his New Scotland home in April 2022.

30-year-old Elana Radin’s supporters packed the courtroom Tuesday. She was calm, composed and even-toned as she spoke, only closing her eyes when she spoke of finding her husband’s lifeless body in the home they shared.

Radin testified that her relationship with Klein began at Upstate Medical School in Syracuse where they studied to become physician assistants. They lived together for awhile, and she broke up with him in 2017 after more than two years.

“I could remember people I grew up with getting engaged on social media and I remember thinking, ‘This is not where this is going,’ so I broke up with him,” she said.

Initially, Radin said that Klein shrugged his shoulders but then was upset and messaged her at one point saying, “’good luck ever finding someone else to love you.’”

She also said that Klein insisted she had cheated but she did not cheat on him.

When asked by Assistant District Attorney Jessica Blain-Lewis why she saved messages from Klein, Radin testified that she just wanted to keep a record of their conversation.

She said she blocked his cell phone and Facebook and a week or two later, she said that Klein called her a “a worthless piece of s*** in an Instagram direct message.

Radin cut ties with him a year and a half after the relationship ended after he asked her to take their dog Kiera back, she said.

Radin said she ultimately did not take back the dog because Klein was “jerking her around” and she said she cut ties altogether because she was “done with that behavior.”

Klein, who is representing himself, objected to a question asked by ADA Blain-Lewis about whether Philip knew Klein. The judge overruled.

“They did not personally know how each other,” Radin responded.

She said she shared an email from Klein after they were married that made her “livid” and Rabadi was aware of who Klein was.

On the morning of the murder, Rabadi was home when Radin left for work. He woke up for a bit, she said.

Radin said she locked the doors whenever she left the house and the dog was inside the house when she left. The dog was found outside when Rabadi was found dead.

Blain-Lewis asked if Radin had attempted to contact her husband that morning after she left for work. Radin testified that she texted Rabadi before she scrubbed in to a surgery and he didn’t text back. She called and it went straight to voicemail. She also tried to FaceTime him and there was no response.

She also called when he wasn’t showing up for work and then called his sister and brother-in-law to see if they had heard from him and they hadn’t.

She called her father-in-law to see if he could drive by the house and he agreed. Then, she called 911.  

“Because it was so unusual for Phil to not be at work. If anything, I would have expected him to be there a little early. I don’t think that has ever happened before. I became very concerned that there was something serious that had happened,” she said.

Radin went on to say that she drove home because she knew something was wrong. When she arrived at their home at 120 Miller Road, she could hear Rabadi’s father shouting and screaming.

She said she thought the screams were from Rabadi and he was hurt, so she ran into the garage.

Radin closed her eyes in court as she described seeing him face down. His hands were behind his back and he was surrounded by a massive amount of blood, she said. Her father-in law was at his side.

She reached down to check for a pulse and her finger slipped into a deep wound, she said. Radin said she started trying to flip her husband to do chest compressions. That’s when officers came and pulled her off and told her to leave the garage.

Radin said she told one of the Albany County Sheriff’s investigators that she had an ex-boyfriend who made her “nervous” named Jacob Klein.

Radin said she had not heard from him since the Instagram message. She described herself as being “livid” over the email he wrote her in 2021 after her wedding.

“I made it very clear to him that he was not to contact me. I was upset that he was looking pictures of me on my wedding day. I did not like that he said he was jealous of my new husband,” she testified. “I didn’t like that he referenced my new house because we had only been there for months at that point. I didn’t like that he said he considered mailing something to the house. I had made it clear that we are done here and you’re emailing me.” 

Klein cross-examines Radin

On cross-examination, Klein asked Radin if she was in a state of shock when she came home. It was at the scene that she almost immediately implicated Klein.

“Well, I had just found my husband in a pool of his own blood, but I was kind of in go mode,” Radin responded. “I can keep my composure and even perform under pressure, so I remained composed enough under the circumstances.” 

Klein continued to press about whether she was in shock.

Radin responded: “What is shock?”

Klein then asked how long she was in shock before withdrawing the question.

The defense will get an opportunity to present its case on Wednesday.

Police: Klein searched news outlets about murder

Earlier on Tuesday, a New York State Police intelligence investigator testified that Klein’s Google searches through his Gmail account included “WNYT” and “suspicious death under investigation in New Scotland” after the murder.

The witness also claimed Klein searched for “how to properly kick in a door” and “how to breach a door with a shotgun” the September before the murder.

Other alleged searches included “how long is too long to hold a choke,” “swordsmith near me” and “best sword maker in USA.”

Second juror dismissed

The day began with another juror dismissed after they said they overheard a conversation from the media, which “affected their ability to be impartial” in the trial, according to a statement from the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.  

This comes after a juror was released because they were ill and in the hospital over the weekend.

NewsChannel 13’s Stella Porter is in the courtroom and there will be updates on the case online and throughout the newscasts at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.