Fiancee Says Aaron Hernandez Was Intoxicated Before Slaying

The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez was called to testify by prosecutors in his murder trial

The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez took the stand in his murder trial Friday, telling the jury that he was drunk in the hours before the slaying of her sister's boyfriend.

Shayanna Jenkins also told jurors that she found a handgun in a kitchen junk drawer before the June 17, 2013, killing of Odin Lloyd. And she testified about Hernandez's marijuana smoking habits.

She avoided looking at Hernandez as she testified. As she left the stand during the lunch break, she mouthed something to him, and her face looked ashen.

Jenkins, 25, was granted immunity by the court in February, which meant she could be compelled to testify or face time behind bars. There had been a question about whether prosecutors would call Jenkins, who has been in a relationship with Hernandez since high school and is the mother of his 2-year-old daughter.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to the killing of Lloyd, 27, the boyfriend of Jenkins' younger sister, Shaneah. Lloyd was found shot to death at an industrial park less than a mile from the North Attleborough, Massachusetts, home that Shayanna and Hernandez share.

Much of Jenkins' testimony Friday focused on the days leading up to the June 17, 2013, murder of Odin Lloyd. She was also asked about Hernandez's alcohol consumption, marijuana use, and a black gun that prosecutors believe may have been the murder weapon.

Jenkins first took the stand shortly before 10:30 a.m. Friday, without the jury in the courtroom, as the judge attempted to determine what questions she should be allowed to answer before the jury. She returned to court around 11:15 a.m. to testify in front of the jury.

She was first asked about a Toyota Camry that was delivered to her home. Prosecutors allege that guns were shipped in the vehicle from Florida. The vehicle was found in the garage at the home after police launched the investigation into Lloyd's murder.

She was also asked about a black gun Hernandez kept in the "junk drawer" of their home. Prosecutors believe this gun might have been the murder weapon. Jenkins said she gave Hernandez a stern look after she found the firearm. She said she later noticed the weapon was missing from the drawer.

Prosecutors showed a surveillance image of Hernandez in the foyer of his home. In the image, Hernandez is seen holding what appears to be a black gun. Asked if that gun was similar or dissimilar to the black firearm that was kept in the junk drawer, she said, "I can't see the full item. It's not depicted here. Only a black blob, it looks like right now."

Prosecutors also asked Jenkins about Hernandez co-defendant Ernest "Bo" Wallace. She was asked if Hernandez and Wallace ever used marijuana in the home, and answered yes.

She was also asked about Lloyd, and how she first met him through her younger sister. Asked if she and her sister were close, Jenkins teared up. "We're estranged, kind of," she said.

When asked about Lloyd, Jenkins said, "We had a kind of cordial relationship." She also testified about where Hernandez said he obtained his marijuana. She said Hernandez had two sources, and Lloyd was one of them. She said Hernandez indicated that he paid Lloyd for the marijuana.

Jenkins also described the relationship between Hernandez and Lloyd, saying they "weren't the best of friends," but they were friends.

Prosecutors pressed Jenkins about the night of June 15, two days before Lloyd's murder. On that night, prosecutors allege that Hernandez was out at Rumor nightclub with Lloyd.

A text message was shown that Hernandez sent to Jenkins at 8:57 a.m. the next morning saying that he messed up and got drunk and "O took care of me and somehow tol him bout my other spot and I jus woke up buggin im sorry and on way home."

Jenkins said she saw Hernandez "within the hour or two" after that, when he arrived in their driveway. She said she was with her daughter and her mother-in-law, and they were supposed to go to breakfast with Hernandez that morning.

She said he arrived in a black SUV, similar to a Chevy Suburban, a vehicle that Hernandez rented. He was with Lloyd, she testified, and Lloyd then left in the SUV the two had arrived in. She said Hernandez told Lloyd to return the truck "when he was finished."

Video was also shown of Hernandez and Jenkins preparing to go out on the night of June 16, Father's Day. Hernandez is shown smoking outside before getting into a car with her, smoking what Jenkins said was marijuana.

Asked how frequently Hernandez smoked marijuana, she said. "I couldn't tell you. It was frequent." She said he smoked daily, but had no idea how many times a day. When he did smoke marijuana, she said he mostly smoked in the basement, and occasionally outside.

Jenkins was also asked about a meal that she, Hernandez and some friends ate at the South Street Cafe in Providence, Rhode Island, on the night of Father's Day, June 16 - the day before Lloyd's murder. The bill came to $273.45, and they left around 12:20 a.m. on June 17, about three hours before Lloyd's murder.

After settling the bill, Jenkins said she and Hernandez left in their car. Asked about Hernandez's sobriety, she said, "I don't know, we were both kind of intoxicated, I guess." She said she didn't remember smelling marijuana, but said she believed Hernandez did smoke some that night.

When they arrived home, around 12:39 a.m., according to surveillance video, Jenkins said she got out of the car. She said she saw Wallace, Hernandez's co-defendant, walking up the driveway, and gave him a hug. She said co-defendant Carlos Ortiz was also at the home that night.

She said Hernandez, Wallace and Ortiz all went down to the basement of the home. When they came up from the basement, Jenkins said she couldn't remember what they were doing or whether any of them had anything in their hands.

A couple minutes later, around 1:30 or 2 a.m., she said all three left together. She couldn't remember if they said where they were going.

Jenkins said she recalls getting a call from Hernandez a half hour or so later asking her for Lloyd's phone number. She said she didn't have that phone number, and texted her sister Shaneah instead. She got Lloyd's number from her sister and then sent it to Hernandez. She said Hernandez never said why he needed Lloyd's number.

She said that was the last she heard from Hernandez in the early morning hours of June 17. She said she woke up around 6 or 7 a.m., and did not recall seeing Hernandez there. She said she then tried to reach him by phone, but couldn't remember if she was able to get a hold of him.

A couple hours later, Jenkins said she remembers seeing Hernandez "in the kitchen or the family room" of their home. Asked how he appeared to her at that time, she said, "Normal."

She said she also remembered seeing Wallace and Ortiz in the home around this time.

Jenkins said she cooked the three of them some breakfast, and after that, they went to the pool area and Hernandez was playing with his daughter as they drank fruit smoothies that Jenkins had made them. 

After that, she said Hernandez, Wallace and Ortiz went down to the basement, and then left in a car a short time later. She said she next saw Hernandez at the house, but didn't remember if he was alone or with someone else.

When investigators came to her house, Jenkins said she asked Hernandez what was going on. "He didn't know," she said.

Later, Jenkins said she drove Hernandez to the police station, dropped him off, and left.

She said the next time she remembers having a conversation with Hernandez was about a half an hour later on the telephone. At that time she was talking with two police officers who had stopped her just outside the police station.

"He was calling to check on me and let me know that everything was OK," she said. She said Hernandez told her to call his agent, and after speaking with the agent she stopped talking with police.

At Hernandez's direction, Jenkins said she then drove to a McDonald's in Rhode Island to meet Wallace and give him money. She said she thinks Wallace was coming from somewhere in Connecticut.

Jenkins said she took out $500 from a nearby ATM and gave it to Wallace. She said Wallace didn't say what the money was for. Ortiz was in a car with Wallace at this time.

Cell phone records were also shown indicating that Hernandez called Jenkins more than a dozen times between 11 p.m. on June 17 and 2 a.m. on June 18. Jenkins also had multiple phone conversations with Wallace and Hernandez's agent, Brian Murphy, during that same time period. Jenkins also received several calls around 1:36 a.m. on June 18 from her sister Shaneah.

Before Jenkins took the stand Friday, Judge E. Susan Garsh announced that a male juror had been dismissed from the case, but she didn't elaborate. He is the third juror to be dismissed from the trial. Fifteen jurors remain, and three of those will be alternates chosen randomly after closing arguments.

During earlier voir dire without the jury in the courtroom, Jenkins was asked about the night that police came to her home to question Hernandez about the June 17, 2013, murder of Odin Lloyd.

"I just asked what was going on. He said he didn't know," she said.

Jenkins described speaking with Hernandez after he returned from the police station and she learned that Lloyd had been killed.

"I asked him if he did it. He said no," Jenkins said.

She was also asked how many guns she had seen in her home, and answered one.

Jenkins was asked about disposing of a box that Hernandez had asked her to get rid of. Prosecutors have alleged that the box might have contained the gun used to kill Lloyd.

Jenkins said she was asked to take certain steps to conceal the box so people didn't know what she was doing.

She said she did not talk to anyone, other than Hernandez, about removing items from the home. She also said she washed Hernandez's shirt after the murder is alleged to have taken place.

Jenkins has pleaded not guilty to perjury in connection with the case. Prosecutors say she lied to a grand jury investigating the killing.

Jenkins has been coming to court sporadically and sitting behind Hernandez, whispering "I love you," to him and occasionally joking with him. She has not appeared in court since March 6.

When Shaneah was called to testify earlier in the trial, Shayanna scribbled notes and then passed them to Hernandez's lawyers, occasionally sighing as her sister spoke.

Surveillance video played for the jury showed Shayanna removing from their home a garbage bag with what appeared to be a box inside. Prosecutors said before the trial that they believe the box contained the murder weapon, which has never been found.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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