A female cousin of disgraced former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been ordered held on contempt of court charges after she refused to testify before a Massachusetts grand jury convened to probe first-degree murder charges filed against Hernandez, according to the Hartford Courant.
Tanya Cummings-Singleton, 37, was deemed in contempt of the grand jury she was subpoenaed to appear before and taken into custody on Aug. 1, according to a spokesman for South Bay House of Correction in Suffolk County.
The Falls Rivers composed panel has been investigating Hernandez's role in the June 17 execution-style slaying of one-time associate Odin Lloyd. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Aug. 22 for Hernandez, who remains jailed without bail and confined to solitary confinement. Bristol County District Attorney Sam Sutter has intimated he expects the 23-year-old NFL veteran to be formally indicted for murder by his next scheduled hearing.
Police have long sought to somehow connect Cummings-Singleton to the crime, searching the home she shares with Hernandez’s uncle on several occasions and insisting they have uncovered she purchased a bus ticket to Florida for alleged co-conspirator Ernest Wallace following the crime. Wallace has been charged with accessory after the fact to murder.
In addition, Carlos Ortiz, who has told police he was with both Hernandez and Lloyd on the night the shooting occurred and is now believed to have turned state’s evidence, insists he discussed the killing with Cummings-Singleton after he and Wallace returned to Bristol on June 17.
Authorities previously seized Cummings-Singleton's cell phone and at least four credit cards she owned while she was in court last month attending one of Hernandez’s appearances. Court documents also indicate in the weeks since her cousin's arrest she has spent time at his North Attleborough home
Grand jury proceedings are secret, so it is not clear who else has been subpoenaed to testify, or when Tanya Cummings-Singleton will reappear before the grand jury. The judge has full discretion over the length of her incarceration and can hold her until she complies. Bail is not set for individuals found in contempt of court.
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