Court filings say items were taken while she was hospitalized and recovering.
LAWRENCE, MA — A North Andover police officer awaiting trial in a case tied to a violent confrontation with colleagues says her former boyfriend broke into her home days after she was shot by another officer, stole personal items and used her computer to take money and access accounts while she was still hospitalized.
The allegation landed in court filings as Kelsey Fitzsimmons, 28, fights a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from a June 30, 2025, incident at her home on Phillips Brook Road. Her defense says she was in a mental health crisis and never aimed a gun at officers, while prosecutors say she pointed a firearm at police serving a restraining order sought by her then-fiancé, Justin Aylaian. The new filings add another disputed thread, accusing Aylaian of a break-in on July 3, 2025, that defense lawyers say prosecutors have declined to charge.
The dispute played out in late February hearings as Fitzsimmons’ trial date approaches. Her attorneys say surveillance video captures a man forcing through the front door and entering with three other men while she was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound. Prosecutors counter that Aylaian contacted police about retrieving belongings and asked officers to accompany him, and that the evidence does not show criminal intent. The Essex County district attorney has said the issue was reviewed and that the Probate and Family Court is the proper venue for certain property disputes linked to the couple’s ongoing custody case.
Fitzsimmons’ defense team says the break-in happened at about 9:30 a.m. July 3, 2025, three days after the confrontation that left her badly wounded. In filings and statements attached to motions, Fitzsimmons said she was still hospitalized when she learned her home’s alarms and cameras had gone offline and her front door had been forced. Her lawyers said the intruder cut the Wi-Fi and disabled the surveillance system before taking items. Footage shared by the defense shows a man pushing into the entryway and several others following him inside before the camera view shifts to what appears to be a basement area.
Among the missing items, Fitzsimmons said, were a laptop computer, an iPad and a passport. She also said an unusual item was taken from her refrigerator: a handwritten letter she said Aylaian had written, praising her as a mother and partner. Fitzsimmons described the letter as important to her defense because it undercut claims made in court filings that portrayed her as dangerous to herself and others. “It is a crucial piece of evidence,” she wrote in a statement filed with the court, arguing it was removed because it challenged his credibility.
Fitzsimmons also accused Aylaian of using the laptop to impersonate her and move money. In the filings, she said about $5,000 was transferred from her accounts, and she alleged travel refunds from a canceled trip were directed into his personal bank account. She said someone accessed her email and social media accounts, reviewed private medical information and looked at pension and beneficiary records. “None of these actions were authorized by me,” Fitzsimmons wrote in a statement presented in court. Her father, Steven Fitzsimmons, said in his own statement that when he arrived at the home the morning of July 3, he found signs of a break-in and said Aylaian admitted entering the house.
Prosecutors have said they do not plan to charge Aylaian for breaking and entering tied to the July 3 entry. In a statement released after the February 27, 2026, hearing, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said his office reviewed calls made by the “third party” to the North Andover Police Department seeking police accompaniment before and during his entry to retrieve belongings, and concluded the information did not show criminal intent. Tucker said the office found no “good faith basis” to bring charges and said the Probate and Family Court would be the appropriate venue for allegations involving property, given the couple’s parallel family court issues.
Fitzsimmons’ lawyers argue the decision not to prosecute is itself relevant to the criminal case because, they say, it offers the prosecution’s key witness favorable treatment. They have asked for a special prosecutor and say they turned over the surveillance video and other material months earlier. The defense claims that despite what it calls “overwhelming evidence,” no charges were filed for crimes they describe as potential felonies, including breaking and entering, identity fraud and property destruction. Prosecutors have rejected the idea of a conflict and have told the court they reviewed the matter and will not pursue charges.
The July 3 allegations cannot be separated from the earlier night that put Fitzsimmons in the hospital. The underlying case stems from a June 30, 2025, confrontation that began when fellow officers went to her home to serve a restraining order sought by Aylaian and to notify her of court-ordered custody steps involving their infant son. Prosecutors say Fitzsimmons, who was off-duty, brandished a gun and pointed it at officers. Fitzsimmons and her lawyers say she was suffering from postpartum depression and that she raised the weapon only toward herself, not toward police, in an attempted suicide.
Accounts of how the gunfire unfolded have remained sharply divided. Police have said an officer fired because he feared for his life when Fitzsimmons pulled a weapon and appeared ready to shoot. Fitzsimmons has publicly disputed that, saying she never pointed the gun at others. She has said she spent 53 days hospitalized after being shot. The case has drawn intense local attention because she was a police officer shot by another officer while colleagues were carrying out a court order at her own home.
Fitzsimmons has pleaded not guilty to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. Her release from custody has also been contested over alcohol testing conditions attached to bail and supervision, with prior hearings focused on whether she could comply with breath-based monitoring given injuries from the shooting. By late February, she was back in court seeking adjustments to her release conditions so she could better prepare for trial. A judge reduced notice requirements for travel to meet with her attorney, allowing her to drive herself and shortening the lead time needed to coordinate certain movements related to case preparation.
The latest filings also reached beyond the ex’s alleged entry, raising questions about the officer who shot Fitzsimmons. Defense lawyers have argued that the shooter received unusual treatment after the incident, including time on critical incident leave while still working paid details and earning overtime. The defense says those employment and pay arrangements matter because they could bear on credibility, departmental practices and what benefits, if any, were provided in connection with the case. Prosecutors have not agreed with the defense’s characterization, and the issue has become another point of friction as the case moves toward trial.
As the legal fight unfolds, the personal stakes remain high. Fitzsimmons and Aylaian are in an active custody battle over their child, and filings in criminal court have repeatedly referred to family court proceedings running alongside the criminal prosecution. In that context, defense lawyers say the alleged July 3 break-in was not simply a property dispute but an event that affected evidence, access to personal records and the ability to prepare a defense. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have argued that the alleged entry and any property issues belong in family court, not as criminal charges brought by their office.
Outside court, Fitzsimmons has described the case as a grinding, public ordeal. After a February hearing in Lawrence, she said the upcoming court dates have become a steady countdown. “This is definitely the hardest I’ve ever gone through in my life,” she said, adding that she planned to “stand strong” as the trial nears. Her lawyers have echoed that theme in court, describing her as a new mother who needed treatment and support during a postpartum mental health crisis, not escalating force during a late-night confrontation at home.
In court, prosecutors have emphasized the severity of the alleged threat during the June 30 incident and the need to hold Fitzsimmons accountable for what they say happened when officers arrived with a restraining order. They have also pointed to the communications from Aylaian to police about retrieving belongings as a reason they do not view the July 3 entry as a prosecutable break-in. The defense says the door was forced, the surveillance system was disrupted and items were removed while Fitzsimmons was incapacitated, and it has urged the court to consider whether those actions, and the state’s response to them, should be aired before a jury.
The case’s next steps are coming quickly. A further hearing is expected in mid-March, and Fitzsimmons’ trial is scheduled to begin March 23 in Essex Superior Court. As that date approaches, the judge will continue to address pretrial disputes, including what evidence jurors will see, how much of the contested break-in allegations may be introduced, and how both sides will frame the diverging accounts of what happened at the Phillips Brook Road home on June 30, 2025.
Author note: Last updated March 1, 2026.