Aaron Hernandez Murder Judge Dismisses Tipster in Odin Lloyd Case
A tipster, who initially pointed out potential juror disqualification in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial, testified behind closed doors that she was actually intimidated into coming forward by defense attorneys, whom she said also twisted her words.
According to the Boston Globe, prosecutors also alleged defense attorney James Sultan "threatened to release the female witness' name to the media if she did not talk to him."
Bristol County prosecutor William McCauley further claimed Sultan purposely interjected inaccuracies into the 26-year-old woman's statement when he submitted it into record.
After he was found guilty in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, Hernandez requested a probe into the juror in question based on the tipster's claim.
In rejecting Hernandez's request for a probe, Judge E. Susan Garsh made note of the discrepancies McCauley cited in the record, but added it was likely the witness, and not Sultan, who had been untruthful.
Throughout proceedings, Sultan claimed that the woman told him she was at a party in December 2014 with a female juror, whom the woman claimed had overheard a conversation about Hernandez's alleged involvement in a separate double murder indictment.
More than likely, the juror would have been disqualified from sitting on the Lloyd jury if it were known that she was aware of the other case against the former NFL star.
The judge further cast doubt on the tipster's credibility by noting she initially failed to tell Sultan about a personal relationship she developed with Hernandez while he was incarcerated. Garsh added the woman provided Sultan details about the juror that were "misleading and, in some cases, outright falsehoods."
The woman's motivation appears to have been a desire to help Hernandez, who also reportedly told her that if he were released and they became an item, he would not want her "chilling with other men."
At the time of his arrest, Hernandez was engaged to Shayanna Jenkins, the mother of his young daughter.
He is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the Lloyd slaying and is also charged as the trigger-man in the drive-by killing of two men in downtown Boston in 2012.