The fiancee of Aaron Hernandez has been granted immunity from prosecution to testify against the former New England Patriots tight end at his murder trial.
A judge signed the immunity order Tuesday, ensuring that when Shayanna Jenkins is called to the witness stand she will not be able to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Authorities say that the day after Odin Lloyd’s June 2013 slaying, Jenkins — acting at Hernandez’s behest — removed the murder weapon from the home she and her fiancee shared in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Massachusetts prosecutors filed a petition for immunity for Jenkins last month to compel her to testify.
Jenkins is Hernandez’s Bristol (Connecticut) Central High School sweetheart and the father of his 2-year-old daughter. She has attended several days of the trial, either alone or with the former Patriots tight end’s family, and sat directly behind Hernandez — talking and giggling with him during breaks, taking notes during testimony, and chatting with his defense lawyers when court is not in session.
Jenkins, 25, faces a perjury charge in the case, accused of lying to the Massachusetts grand jury that investigated Lloyd’s death about the number of guns she saw in the home. The .45 caliber Glock pistol used to kill Lloyd never was recovered.
Prosecution documents detail Jenkins’ actions the day after Lloyd’s slaying, when she was seen on surveillance footage carrying a black trash bag that appeared to contain a heavy object out of the house, putting it in the trunk of her sister’s car, and pulling out of the driveway. The court filings refer to cellphone records that indicate she drove to meet Ernest Wallace, Hernandez’s “right-hand-man” from Bristol, who also faces a murder charge in the Lloyd case.
Lloyd was the boyfriend of Jenkins’ younger sister, Shaneah Jenkins, who testified last week. Shaneah Jenkins, 23, told jurors that the first time her older sister had ever asked to borrow her car was the day after Lloyd’s death.
Shaneah Jenkins testified that she, “Odin, my sister, and Aaron” often spent time together at family gatherings in the nine months leading up to the shooting. The two girls both have attended several days of the trial, and sat on opposite sides of the courtroom in a display of loyalty to their respective boyfriends. They do not acknowledge each other in court.
Hernandez faces 14 charges in several different Massachusetts cases, including a 2012 double homicide in Boston. He is on trial for murder and two illegal firearms charges in Lloyd’s death. The trial was delayed this week due to a snowstorm; testimony is scheduled to resume Wednesday at the Fall River (Mass.) Justice Center.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC