BEATRICE - Several former Peru State Students who were with Joshua Keadle the morning after Tyler Thomas disappeared testified Monday at Keadle's trial, which has entered its second week. Keadle has been charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance of Thomas.

Jerica Benavides, a former softball player at Peru State, said she considered Keadle a "good friend”. Keadle had gone with three friends to Nebraska City on the night of Dec. 2, 2010 to see the new Harry Potter movie - Deathly Hallows Part 1.

Upon returning in Keadle’s vehicle from the movie early in the morning on Dec. 3rd, members of the group saw Tyler "Ty" Thomas walking on campus, but did not stop. The four had planned to smoke marijuana, but Benavides said Keadle left for his dorm room and didn’t return. 

"I never seen him again, that night," she said. "I tried texting him to see if he was going to come down, because we were waiting for him to go smoke".

Benavides later testified that Keadle did text her, saying “my stomach is killing me”. Later, on the morning of Dec. 3rd, Benavides says she woke up to several other text messages as she prepared to go to softball practice.

"I woke up to several calls and text messages from my roommates, from Josh, that Tyler (Thomas) had gone missing and that everybody was looking for her," Benavides recalled. "Josh (Keadle) was messaging me about it. My roommates Nicole and Sam were messaging me about it".

Benavides said Keadle never mentioned being with Tyler Thomas, or “going to the (Missouri) River” or the Peru boat ramp. Benavides said that the group did not offer Thomas a ride when they saw her walking on campus, because she didn’t like her.

Another person who went with Keadle to the movie in Nebraska City was Jacob Aguirre. He was asked Monday if he saw Keadle the morning after Thomas’ disappearance.

Aguirre recalled seeing Keadle in the lunch hall on campus.

"(Keadle) came up to me and asked me, 'If anybody says anything, or if anybody asks, can you tell 'em that I was with you guys, all night?' At the time, I didn't think nothing of it," Aguirre testified. "I said, 'Yeah, okay.'"

Also testifying Monday was another classmate, Jason Rodriguez, who said that Keadle, just after Thomas disappeared, asked him to hold onto a gun he owned. No evidence has been submitted indicating a gun was involved in Thomas' disappearance.

One of Keadle's roommates, Brenden Whitted, had what he described as an "intimate relationship" with Thomas in the summer of 2010, but the two agreed to be just friends when school began that fall. Even so, Thomas made many visits to Whitted's suite where Keadle also lived. Whitted stated that Keadle and Thomas always had a certain "friction" and definitely weren't fond of one another.

"(Thomas) was over at our suite a lot back and forth," Whitted said. "Through their meetings, there were multiple occasions where Joshua expressed his feelings about Tyler toward me. He called her out of her name several times. Tyler didn't like Joshua as well."

Prosecutors allege Keadle picked up Thomas near the Peru State campus after midnight on Dec. 3, 2010, and drove to a boat launch on the Missouri River. Thomas was never seen again, and a prosecutor said last week that the only explanation is that she’s dead and Keadle is responsible.

Keadle initially denied meeting up with Thomas the night she disappeared, but he later told investigators that they went to the river and she had performed a sex act in exchange for a ride to Omaha.

An argument ensued, Keadle said, and Thomas threatened to accuse him of rape. Keadle said he drove away, leaving her behind.

You can follow Tommy on Twitter @Tommy_NCN.