Aaron Hernandez, the ex-New England Patriots star tight end who stands accused of orchestrating the murder of Odin Lloyd, and pulling the trigger in his shooting death, will be back in court again today at 9:00 a.m. Follow Day 34 of the court proceedings free here.
A Hernandez relative, cousin Jennifer Mercado, testified with immunity on Tuesday in court meaning she was not able to plead the Fifth Amendment. Mercado did answer questions, but whether or not she was completely truthful is up for debate. She often said she could not remember certain events; her sister Tanya Singleton has already been hit with contempt of court charges for no cooperating with prosecutors.
While her testimony was often fruitless for the prosecution, she did say that she often lived with Ernest Wallace, a co-defendant in Lloyd’s murder, and recalled Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, the other co-defendant, getting into a silver, four-door sedan together the night of Lloyd’s shooting. She did not say she knew where they were going, but the prosecution has used that as evidence to support their timeline of events.
Among the things Mercado has forgotten are six discussions with Hernandez since he’s been charged with murder. Mercado said that she did not discuss the case with Hernandez during any of those six discussions.
Mercado did admit to receiving money from Hernandez’s fiancée Shayanna Jenkins. The defense believes Hernandez has paid off witnesses in exchange for favorable testimony, while Mercado said the money was to help take care of Singleton’s two sons. During Hernandez’s recorded prison conversations he was overheard saying he had set up trust funds for the two children. Mercado also painted a picture of him as a doting uncle who “would spoil [his nephews] rotten.”
[SI.com]
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