As the murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez continued on Tuesday, the girlfriend of his alleged victim took the stand.
Prosecutor William McCauley began by asking Shaneah Jenkins, the girlfriend of the late Odin Lloyd and sister of Hernandez's fiancee, questions about Ernest Wallace. Wallace has been referred to as an associate of Hernandez and is charged with accesory to murder after the fact in the case.
Jenkins testified that Wallace was called "Bo" and recalled seeing him at Hernandez's North Attleboro, Massachusetts, home. She said that Lloyd was friendly with him. Lloyd's girlfriend was also questioned about Alexander Bradley, a Hernandez friend who has accused Hernandez of shooting him in the face in Florida a few months before Lloyd was killed.
In addition, McCauley asked Jenkins questions pertaining to the layout of the North Attleboro home. They presented diagrams and asked Jenkins to mark where the surveillance cameras are located. Jenkins also identified photos of the home's pool, kitchen, and an "old vehicle" in one of the garages.
As questioning continued, Jenkins became emotional talking about the phone call she received from police the night Lloyd was murdered. She later said that she spent a "couple days" at Hernandez's home following the news of Lloyd's death, but had no conversations with him. She referred to him as "stressed but normal."
Earlier on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh dismissed a female juror from the trial, saying there is "credible evidence she had talked about the case."
Garsh also said there is evidence the juror attended more Patriots games than she disclosed on her juror questionnaire and that the juror spoke of how hard it would be to convict in the absence of a weapon.
U.S. & World
There are 18 jurors. Six of those will be randomly chosen as alternates immediately before deliberations begin.
The former New England Patriots standout is accused of the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiancee's sister. On Friday, Lloyd's girlfriend, Shaneah Jenkins, testified that Lloyd and Hernandez were cordial but not close. She was expected to be back on the stand Tuesday.
Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, did not testify as expected Tuesday. She was overcome with emotion and had to leave the courtroom twice last week when a prosecutor showed graphic photos of her 27-year-old son's body.
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Tuesday was the first day back at the trial since the Patriots won the Super Bowl. Hernandez, 25, had a $40 million contract with the Patriots when he was arrested.
Lloyd's body was found riddled with bullets in an industrial park near Hernandez's North Attleborough home, not far from Gillette Stadium.
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In a separate murder case that has yet to go to trial, Hernandez was charged last year in Boston with killing two men in 2012 after someone spilled a drink on him at a nightclub. The judge has ruled that prosecutors in the Lloyd case cannot tell the jury about those slayings.
Hernandez faces life imprisonment if convicted of murdering Lloyd, a semipro football player.
