Fiancee of Aaron Hernandez gave co-defendant money
FALL RIVER, Mass. - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez took the stand in his murder trial Friday, telling the jury that he was drunk in the hours before the slaying of her sister's boyfriend.
Shayanna Jenkins also told jurors that she found a handgun in a kitchen junk drawer before the June 17, 2013, killing of Odin Lloyd.
She avoided looking at Hernandez as she testified. As she left the stand, she mouthed something to him, and her face looked ashen.
Jenkins was granted immunity by the court in February, which meant she could be compelled to testify or face time behind bars. There had been a question about whether prosecutors would call Jenkins, who has been in a relationship with Hernandez since high school and is the mother of his 2-year-old daughter.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to killing Lloyd, the boyfriend of Jenkins' younger sister, Shaneah. Lloyd was found shot to death at an industrial park less than a mile from the home that Shayanna and Hernandez share.
Before Jenkins took the stand, Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh announced that a male juror had been dismissed from the case, but she didn't elaborate. He is the third juror to be dismissed from the trial. Fifteen jurors remain, and three of those will be alternates chosen randomly after closing arguments.
Shayanna Jenkins has pleaded not guilty to perjury in connection with the case. Prosecutors say she lied to a grand jury investigating the killing.
The sisters introduced Lloyd and Hernandez in 2012 during a game at Gillette Stadium.
Shayanna Jenkins has been coming to court sporadically and sitting behind Hernandez, whispering ''I love you,'' to him and occasionally joking with him. She has not appeared in court since March 6.
When Shaneah was called to testify earlier in the trial, Shayanna scribbled notes and then passed them to Hernandez's lawyers, occasionally sighing as her sister spoke.
Surveillance video played for the jury showed Shayanna removing from their home a garbage bag with what appeared to be a box inside. Prosecutors said before the trial that they believe the box contained the murder weapon, which has never been found.
Jenkins wasn't asked in detail about the box on the witness stand Friday but is likely to be asked about it on Monday.
As she walked away from the stand following questioning, she mouthed something to Hernandez as she passed the defense table, her face looking ashen.
Later, in front of the jury, she said she once saw a gun in a junk drawer in the kitchen. When shown an example of a Glock .45, the kind of gun prosecutors say was the murder weapon, she testified it was the same color and shape but she was unsure if it was the same size.
Police went to the home the night of June 17, 2013, after finding Lloyd's body with a key to a Hernandez rental car in his pocket.
Jenkins said she asked Hernandez what was going on.
''Do you recall what he said to you?'' prosecutor William McCauley asked.
''He didn't know,'' she replied.
Jenkins testified she put their daughter in the car and drove Hernandez to the police station that night. Soon after, she said, he asked her to meet Wallace and give him money. She drove to Rhode Island and met him early on June 18.
''He asked me if I was OK,'' Jenkins said. ''He let me know that everything is going to be OK.''
She said he then asked her for a certain amount of money, although she didn't remember how much. She said she gave him $500, the maximum she could withdraw from an ATM.
''I remember telling him to be safe,'' she said. ''That's about it.''
Among the people in the courtroom was her younger sister, Shaneah Jenkins, a 23-year-old law student, who sat next to Lloyd's mother.
Shayanna Jenkins, when asked by the prosecutor if she is close with her sister, took a long pause, then shook her head, saying they are ''estranged, kind of.''