Aaron Hernandez Murder Trial News Update: Ex-NFL Player's Fiancee Shayanna Jenkins to Testify Against the Ex-NFL Player in Court
Aaron Hernandez's fiancee has agreed to testify against the former New England Patriots tight end in exchange for immunity from her pending charge of lying to a grand jury.
According to The Boston Globe, Shayanna Jenkins has been granted immunity from perjury charges for allegedly lying to the Bristol County grand jury that investigated the murder case. As a result, she will have to testify against the father of her child.
Testimony in the high profile case is set to resume on Wednesday after beign postponed for two days due to heavy snowfall.
Last week, Bristol County Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh dismissed Juror Number 96 from the trial after she was questioned in a closed-door hearing that lasted for over 90 minutes, reports The Associated Press. According to Judge Garsh, there was evidence that the juror specifically discussed an opinion about the case and the fact that it would be hard to convict Hernandez since the murder weapon was never found. The juror has also talked about the evidence that had not been admitted in the case.
"Over the last few years, the juror has expressed an interest in serving on this particular jury," Garsh said, according to ESPN. "There is credible evidence that the juror has attended more Patriots games than were disclosed on the questionnaire."
Twelve jurors and five alternates remain on the case.
Prosecutors argue that Hernandez and his two friends drove the victim, Odin Lloyd, "to a secluded, isolated area in North Attleborough, a town where Odin Lloyd knew no one but the defendant and the defendant's fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins. There Odin Lloyd was shot 6 times. He was killed, and he was left in a secluded area," said Bristol County prosecutor Patrick Bomberg, according to The Boston Globe.
On the other hand, the defense argues that Hernandez is being targeted for his celebrity status. Hernandez's lawyers have also pointed out that the suspect and the victim were friends and that any evidence that Hernandez was at the murder scene is not proof that he killed, conspired to kill or wanted to kill him.
While on the stand, Shaneah Jenkins, Lloyd's girlfriend and Hernanadez's fiancee's sister, said that she stopped by the home of her sister and Hernandez hours after being told by police that her boyfriend was dead. Hernandez "asked me if I was OK, put his hand on my shoulder, told me he'd been through this death thing before," she said, adding that he told her it would get better with time.
She also made note that her sister displayed suspicious and secretive behavior that day. She then went in the basement with a folded up trash bag, came back upstairs and asked her sister to let her borrow her car, said Shaneah Jenkins.
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