PITTSBURGH -- A 12-year-old girl cried Friday before she testified against the man whom Pittsburgh police say killed her older sister -- a woman who would have been a trial witness against his brother in a separate murder case.

Pittsburgh police said Charles Cabiness, 26, is accused of pointing a gun at Monnica "Nikki" Gay's head and shooting the 38-year-old Wilkinsburg woman to death on a sunny Saturday afternoon in St. Clair Village.

Before taking the witness stand at Cabiness' preliminary hearing Friday, the child was sobbing in downtown Municipal Court. Assistant District Attorney Mark Tranquilli asked her to "do this for your family."

"I was afraid for her life today, just like I was afraid for Nikki's when they had her testify. I was afraid for her life," said Gay's aunt, Bonnie King.

WTAE Channel 4's Janelle Hall reported that the girl identified Cabiness, of the North Side, as the man who ran from the murder scene on Cresswell Street with a gun back on Aug. 22.

The man had a bandanna covering his mouth, according to the girl's testimony, but she said she still believed she recognized him.

"I yelled, 'Is that Chuck?,' and when he turned his face and made eye contact with me, I knew that guy was Chuck," she testified.

After the hearing ended, Cabiness was returned to Allegheny County Jail and ordered to stand trial at a date to be determined.

"You know, people are sick and tired of this nonsense in their neighborhood, and when it takes a 12-year-old child to come forward and carry the ball, you've got to give that kid a pat on the back, and I would encourage adult witnesses who see crimes in their neighborhood to come forward and testify as powerfully as that girl did," Tranquilli said.

Gay had been cooperating in the case against Cabiness' brother, Luzay Watson, who's awaiting trial in the May 14 shooting death of Gay's brother, Davon Young, in St. Clair Village.

Gay was visiting her sister's home to baby sit in that same neighborhood on Aug. 24 when someone walked up to her on Cresswell Street and shot her in broad daylight, Pittsburgh police said.

Cabiness was later found and arrested at a friend's home on Park Place in Munhall. While being taken away in handcuffs, he said "What's up mom" and told Channel 4 Action News "I don't know what you're talking about" when reporter Ari Hait asked him if what police are saying is true.

Gay's stepfather, Richard Forton, told Channel 4 Action News that Gay had been the target of threats before her death.

"I know that they had, or was like, 'If you testify against my brother, we're going to kill you,'" Forton said. "Nikki said to me, 'Dad, I'm going to testify.' I said, 'I know, baby,' and she said, 'Dad, are you going to protect me? And I said, 'Yeah.'"

Police said Gay had been offered the chance to go into a witness protection program but declined.

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