Hernandez cousin gets probation on contempt charge

BOSTON - A cousin of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has been sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to contempt for refusing to testify before the grand jury that indicted Hernandez in the 2012 killings of two Boston men.

Tanya Singleton changed her plea to guilty during a hearing in Boston on Tuesday.

Singleton, of Bristol, Connecticut, has been battling a recurrence of breast cancer.

Her lawyer says the cancer is incurable and she cannot receive adequate medical treatment in jail.

A judge granted the defense request to sentence her to probation. She received the same sentence last month in Bristol County, when she pleaded guilty to a separate contempt charge for refusing to testify before the grand jury that indicted Hernandez in the 2013 shooting of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.