MONCTON, N.B. - A New Brunswick woman testifying at the trial of her accused abductor said Thursday she never tried to create a disturbance or attack the man because she knew she would fail and could make her situation worse.

"I just know that if I went at him with a knife, he would overpower me," she said in Court of Queen's Bench.

The 55-year-old woman, who can't be identified because of a publication ban, was on the stand for the second day, this time to be cross-examined by the defence.

She had already testified that she was leaving work on Feb. 26, 2010, when Romeo Cormier grabbed her, threatened her with a knife and forced her to walk to a basement apartment where she was held captive for nearly a month.

Cormier, 63, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, assault with a weapon, theft and uttering death threats.

The woman said she initially called out for help when Cormier approached her outside a Moncton mall, but told defence lawyer Robert Rideout that no one replied.

"No one answered my call for help," she said. "I did not see anybody that night. ... Not one soul."

She told the jury the walk to Cormier's apartment seemed like it took 10 to 15 minutes.

Rideout asked if she tried to reach into her pocket and call 911 on her cellphone. She said she did not.

"The state of mind I was in, I didn't know what was going on," she replied.

The woman reiterated that she had never met Cormier before.

Rideout asked if she ever spoke to Cormier during her time in the rooming house about her husband. She said she did and that she tried to convince him that she was in an unstable marriage and that if she could get a divorce, she could get money.

"I let him think I wanted to be there," she said.

Rideout asked why she never grabbed a knife or a hammer in Cormier's apartment and try to attack him. She said she knew she would be unsuccessful.

She said Cormier momentarily left the room one day, but was still in the basement. She managed to pull aside a cloth covering the only window and saw people outside. She said she waved her arms but no one noticed.

Rideout asked why she didn't toss something through the window to get their attention.

"It would have gotten their attention, and me dead," she replied.

She confirmed that at times she could hear other people moving about in nearby rooms and on the floor above.

Rideout asked why she didn't create a disturbance to get their attention on the three times that she said Cormier had left the building.

"I was tied and gagged," she answered.

Rideout also asked if she had ever thought about kneeing or kicking Cormier in the groin. She said no, adding that she knew she couldn't overpower a man his size.

She concluded her testimony Thursday. Outside court, a daughter of the woman said the family felt a sense of relief after she left the witness stand.

"She knew that was going to be hard on us, so that was weighing on her too, but it was a necessary thing that had to be done," the daughter said.

Gary Knott, the owner of the rooming house, took the stand and described Cormier as a good tenant who would voluntarily shovel the walkway.

Knott said he visited the house on March 1 to collected rent, but didn't notice anything unusual. He said he did not enter Cormier's room.

Neighbour Jean Serge Doiron told the jury he was having a smoke on his front porch shortly before noon on March 24, 2010, when he saw a woman run out into the street, waving her arms and stopping a Purolator courier truck.

"She had on hardly any clothes, just a shirt and panties," he said. "She looked panicky ... it was a very odd moment."

The woman had earlier told the court that Cormier had left for the food bank in a hurry and hadn't tied her as well as he had on previous occasions. She said she was able to free herself and run to the street.

The driver of the courier truck, Jean-Pierre Thibodeau, testified he had been doing deliveries in the area when he saw the woman run out in front of his vehicle, forcing him to stop.

He said the woman got into the passenger side of his vehicle and sat on the floor.

"She was frantic and afraid," he said. "I said everything was going to be OK."

Thibodeau said when he found out who she was, he called police and drove to the RCMP detachment as fast as he could.

RCMP Cpl. Mike Titus was the final witness of the day. He said he was the first officer to see the woman when the Purolator truck arrived at the detachment.

"I opened the door and saw the woman on the floor," he said.

He described her as wearing a T-shirt, no pants, white socks and had duct tape around her neck.

"She was very upset and afraid," he said. "You could see the panic in her eyes."

Titus said he tried to calm her and, even though he was wearing a uniform, he told her he was the police.

The Crown is expected to call two more witnesses Friday and the defence is to begin its case Monday.