The Aaron Hernandez murder trial is continuing in Boston and the former New England Patriots star has been watching along in the courtroom as witnesses are called to the stand to give testimony and live coverage is streaming online from local news and national outlets as Shaneah Jenkins testifies about the relations between Hernandez and the victim, Odin Lloyd.
The case took an interesting turn at the start of the week, as a juror had to be removed from the trial after it was found out that they had opinions about the case and wanted to be on the jury prior to the trial. According to ESPN.com, a juror was dismissed after not being truthful about how many Patriots games they had attended and also that the juror was found to have been talking about the case and forming opinions about it.
Shaneah Jenkins is on the stand and has been describing her relationship with Lloyd and his relationship with Hernandez. She described her relationship with her sister and her relationship with Hernandez and also that Lloyd and Hernandez smoked weed together. Judge Susan Garsh dismissed the juror after "credible" evidence came up that the juror had formed opinions about the outcome of the case and hoped to get on the jury.
Check here for the Aaron Hernandez live coverage from NBC.
The opening statements in the case came just days before his former team played in the Super Bowl in Arizona. The jury heard opening statements in the case and this started the murder trial for the death of Odin Lloyd, an associate of Hernandez's that was dating the sister of his fiancé at the time of his death. Lloyd was found shot to death near Hernandez's home. Hernandez and his side likely will argue that he did not pull the trigger, that is was one of two accomplices that commutated the crime and not the former NFL player.
Hernandez recently had another one of his trials delayed, as he is preparing for one murder trial and faces charges in two more killings. According to ESPN.com, Hernandez had the trial delayed after a judge agreed to a request from his defense team, as they claimed they needed more time since Hernandez is preparing to face charges in another case. Hernandez is charged with first degree murder for the killings of three men across two cases, one being the high profile Odin Lloyd case for which he was arrested for along with a double murder that preceded the 2013 killing.
The double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado occurred after Hernandez and the men got into an altercation at a nightclub, while the Lloyd murder may have also stemmed from that night. Some reports have Hernandez killing Lloyd to cover up information about the double murder, as Lloyd may have known about the crime. Hernandez has been in jail since last summer and now is facing two different trials.
The hearing for Hernandez and the decision here came last week and his attorneys argued that their legal team does not have enough time to prepare for the case. Judge Jeffrey Locke ruled that the trial could be delayed, but no new date was set for the court trial. Hernandez was one of the top young tight ends in the NFL heading into the middle of his career and he had recently signed a major extension when the news broke about the killing. The Patriots released him soon after that.
Hernandez is charged with first degree murder in the killing of Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Shayanna Jenkins, the fiancé of Hernandez. The two knew each other through that connection and investigators have speculated that an incident at a nightclub the week before the killing was what sparked the shooting. Hernandez was arrested at his home in North Attleboro and Jenkins is charged with perjury in relation to the case.
