No Verdict After Fourth Day Of Deliberation In Aaron Hernandez Double Murder Trial
BOSTON (CBS) – After a fourth day of deliberation, jurors were still unable to find a verdict in the Aaron Hernandez double murder trial and were dismissed Wednesday.
The jury will return at 9 a.m. Thursday. They have been deliberating now for nearly 26 hours.
As attorneys and family members gathered in court at the end of the day, Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's fiancee, was there with Hernandez's 4-year-old daughter Avielle.
The ex-NFL star flashed a big smile when he walked in and spotted her.
Hernandez faces two counts of first-degree murder in the shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston's South End on July 16, 2012.
He's also charged with three counts of armed assault with intent to murder for allegedly shooting at three survivors; one count of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon; one count of witness intimidation and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm.
When a Bristol County jury convicted Hernandez in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, deliberations lasted 36 hours over seven days.
On Tuesday morning, Judge Jeffrey Locke began the day when he answered a question the jury asked him late Monday afternoon. The question was about whether or not they could find Hernandez indirectly guilty on the witness intimidation charge.
Hernandez is accused of shooting the prosecution's star witness, Alexander Bradley, in an attempt to silence him. Bradley claimed in testimony last month to have seen Hernandez shoot the victims.
Judge Locke greeted the jury on Wednesday with an anecdote about his morning commute.
"I was cursing on the way in this morning because traffic was all tied up," he said. "Then I realized it was tied up because the State Police had the road closed because of some doggone bus -- and then I realized it was you folk."
Hernandez is already facing life in prison for the 2013 murder of Lloyd.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
