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Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, testifies in Suffolk Superior Court. Picture: Josh Reynolds/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool
THE fiancee of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez has testified in his double-murder trial that she learnt to keep her mouth shut and “not to ask any questions” in certain situations.
Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez testified against Hernandez on Thursday under a grant of immunity from prosecutors.
She said she took Hernandez’s name in 2015. She and Hernandez have a four-year-old daughter.
Aaron Hernandez is on trial for the July 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado who he encountered in a Boston nightclub. Picture: AP Photo/Elise Amendola, PoolSource:AP
Hernandez is accused of fatally shooting two men in Boston in July 2012 after an encounter at a nightclub.
He is also charged with witness intimidation in the shooting of Alexander Bradley, allegedly to silence him about the killings.
Jenkins-Hernandez testified that she doesn’t recall whether she ever spoke to Hernandez about the shooting, even though he and Bradley were friends. Hernandez’s lawyers argue Bradley is responsible for the deaths.
When asked why she never pressed Hernandez about Bradley being shot, Jenkins-Hernandez said: “I learnt to keep my mouth shut in certain situations. I played my role. Meaning I cleaned and I did everything else. There was no reason for me to ask any questions.”
Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez walks past her fiancee, former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, to testify in his double-murder trial. Picture: Josh Reynolds/The Boston Globe via AP, PoolSource:AP
Jenkins-Hernandez said Bradley wasn’t a friend of hers and didn’t believe it was necessary to ask her fiance about the shooting.
“I pick and choose my battles,” she told the court. “There are some things worth arguing about. I didn’t see that as one of them.”
Jenkins-Hernandez began dating Hernandez in high school. They later rekindled their relationship when Hernandez joined the Patriots. They got engaged in October 2012.
She stood by her former NFL star beau during an earlier trial where he was found guilty of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating her sister.
Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, testifies in Suffolk Superior Court. Picture: Josh Reynolds/The Boston Globe via AP, PoolSource:AP
Originally published as ‘I learnt to keep my mouth shut’