The Aaron Hernandez case is back in superior court on Wednesday and in the hearing the judge is expected to rule on a couple of motions and the family of victim Odin Lloyd is confirmed to be present, while there is a chance that both Hernandez's mother Terri and his fiancé Shayanna Jenkins will also be present on Wednesday in Fall River.
Hernandez was last in court back in September for an official arraignment in superior court and he pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, including a first degree murder charge as well as five other weapons charges. Hernandez and his associates are all facing charges in the crime and his fiancé is also facing charges, as she was hit with a perjury charge from prosecutors and that could hold a serious sentence since it is a murder trial.
The case will go over multiple motions on Wednesday, including a request to continue a gag order for the lawyers in the case from speaking to the media, as the defense is worried that a fair trial could be tainted due to the high publicity in the case. Hernandez came into court wearing a suit and a tie, somethign he did not have last time and was seen talking with his lawyers. The reports said that he was wearing a cuffed shirt with a blue blazer and a grey shirt with a tie on.
Hernandez's attorneys have described the local prosecutors' case as weak and circumstantial, noting that they have not presented the gun that Hernandez is accused of using in the killing. Hernandez is being held in Bristol County Jail while awaiting trial. The other men who were in the car that night, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, have been charged with accessory to murder after the fact.
Former National Football League star Aaron Hernandez, 23, was a tight end for the New England Patriots with a $41 million contract when he was arrested on June 26 and charged in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player, nine days earlier. The Patriots dropped Hernandez a few hours after his arrest.
Hernandez, in jail awaiting trial in the shooting death of a friend at a Massachusetts industrial park in June, is due back in court on Wednesday for a hearing where lawyers will discuss evidence in the case.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include one count of murder and several firearms-related offenses. Prosecutors contend that Hernandez summoned Lloyd to his home in North Attleboro on June 17, a few nights after the two had argued at a nightclub because Lloyd had been speaking with people Hernandez disliked.
At a 2 p.m. ET (1600 GMT) hearing at Massachusetts Superior Court in Fall River, attorneys were expected to argue about the production of evidence and a gag order imposed by the judge which has limited their ability to discuss the case publicly.
On the night of the shooting, Hernandez and two other men drove Lloyd to an isolated industrial park, while Lloyd sent his sister text messages telling her who he was with, a series of messages that ended "just so you know," prosecutors said. When the men arrived at the industrial park, prosecutors say Hernandez shot Lloyd five times, twice while standing over his victim as he lay on the ground.
(Reuters Quotes)
