After an agreement between authorities and former New England Patriots player Aaron Henandez’s legal team, a January trial has been set in the murder case of Odin L. Lloyd. But even as this news broke it was also reported that prosecutors are claminig that they have “direct evidence” that Hernandez’s fiancée lied to a grand jury about what she knew of the case.
Prosecutors insist that Shayanna Jenkins lied to the grand jury that brought an indictment against the player for the 2013 murder of Lloyd. Consequently, she had been charged with perjury later that year. A judge ordered the prosecution to back up their charge, which explains the July 15 filing pertaining to her.
Jenkins is accused of lying about what she knew about a box of evidence that was discarded from the couple’s home in Attleborough, Massachusetts. Jenkins claimed she didn’t remember if she threw out the box of evidence, but prosecutors claim her testimony is inconsistent.
In a July 15 filing, prosecutors claimed they have evidence that contradicts Jenkins’s testimony “concerning how, why and the manner in which she removed the items from the home.”
Jenkins pleaded not guilty to the perjury charges in October and is free on personal recognizance.
Meanwhile, the court and Hernandez’s legal team have agreed on a new January 5, 2015 court date in the murder trial. The original October date was deemed unacceptable by Hernandez’s lawyers. Additionally, the player’s lawyers filed a separate motion to have some of the evidence thrown out. Lawyers claim that police were given permission to take possession of a single cell phone but took three instead.
“There was no warrant authorizing their seizure, nor was their probable cause set forth in the affidavit that would have authorized their seizure…. That is the end of the story,” the lawyers said. “Those phones and any derivative fruits must be suppressed.”
The former University of Florida Gators and New England Patriots tight end is currently under indictment for three murders in two separate cases.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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