(Boston) Shayanna Jenkins, the fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, lied at least 29 times to a grand jury probing the murder that the athlete is accused of committing, prosecutors said in court papers.
William McCauley, the lead Bristol County prosecutor in Hernandez’s case, wrote in papers filed in Bristol Superior Court here that Shayanna Jenkins gave false testimony when she testified under oath in August.
Hernandez, 24, is facing murder and weapons charges for allegedly orchestrating the execution-style slaying of Odin L. Lloyd, 27, of Dorchester. Lloyd’s bullet-riddled body was found near Hernandez’s North Attleborough home on June 17.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held without bail. Two Hernandez associates, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, have pleaded not guilty to accessory charges.
Jenkins, the mother of Hernandez’s daughter, is charged with perjury for allegedly lying to the grand jury, and the document filed in court provided specific instances where prosecutors allege she perjured herself. Jenkins has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is free on personal recognizance.
ccording to prosecutors, however, Jenkins lied about conversations she had with Hernandez when he called her on June 18 from his attorney’s office at the firm of Ropes & Gray in Boston and instructed her to remove items from the house, McCauley wrote.
She also lied about why she removed the items, her lack of knowledge of those objects, and how she got rid of them, according to McCauley.
Among Jenkins’s other alleged falsehoods was her claim that she had not spoken to Wallace since Lloyd’s death; her statements regarding a confidentiality agreement related to their house cleaners; and her claim that she did not speak with Hernandez about the February shooting of Alexander Bradley in Florida.
Bradley is suing Hernandez in federal court in Florida, alleging that Hernandez shot him in the face.
Jenkins also allegedly lied when she told the grand jury that she saw only one gun in the couple’s home and gave false testimony about Hernandez’s possession of firearms, McCauley wrote.
If convicted on the perjury charge, Jenkins faces up to 20 years in prison.
Hernandez is due back in court Dec. 23.
Source: Boston.com
