Boston Police Officers, Paramedics Describe Grisly Crime Scene In Hernandez Murder Trial
BOSTON (CBS) -- Four Boston Police officers and two paramedics testified Thursday about what they saw moments after Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado were murdered in a car at a traffic light in the South End on July 16, 2012.
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is charged with both murders. He sat quietly in Suffolk Superior Court as the officers answered questions about the shooting.
Hernandez is accused of pulling the trigger.
Photographs of the car de Abreu and Furtado were in were shown in court Thursday, the second day of testimony in the trial.
"I observed two individuals, one on the driver's side, one on the passenger side, both which appeared to be unresponsive. One gentleman had a gunshot wound, apparent gunshot wound to the chest and the other had an apparent gunshot wound to the head," Officer Luciano Cirino-Ayuso testified.
It was difficult testimony for the victims' relatives to hear, as they sat crowded in a row behind Hernandez's fiancee Shayanna Jenkins in the courtroom.
A responding police sergeant said officers and a K-9 unit scoured the scene, looking for evidence shortly after the shootings.
"We searched for shell casings near the vehicle. We didn't find any at that time. So, basically, the evidence we had was the car itself," Sergeant Sean McCarthy said.
Defense attorney Jose Baez asked if the fact that the bodies were covered with sheets before they were photographed contaminated the crime scene.
"In my opinion, I wouldn't officially call the scene contaminated just because sheets were put on the bodies," Sgt. McCarthy testified.
Victims' relatives bowed heads and cried, as attorneys showed photos of their loved ones' bodies covered in sheets, which defense attorney Baez focused on.
"Now you're aware that sheets being placed on the body could destroy trace evidence," Baez said.
"It could," Sgt. McCarthy replied.
Paramedics said they were shielding the bodies from public view.
"Just to preserve their dignity. Everyone has a high def camera in their pocket. We do it for them," Boston EMS paramedic Sean Murphy said in court.
Baez also questioned whether a street sweeper seen nearby could have swept away evidence.
Officers say three other passengers were in the car with de Abreu and Furtado. One was wounded in the attack.
"He was holding his shoulder. He had blood stains on his shirt and he was crying,' Officer Clifton McHale testified about the wounded survivor.
"It came to your determination that two of the individuals in the BMW had fled," defense attorney Baez said.
"After we found that out, much later," Sgt. McCarthy said.
Hernandez is accused of shooting up de Abreu and Furtado's car a short time after De Abreu bumped into Hernandez at a nightclub, spilling his drink.
The defense says there is no proof of that happening.
They contend it was Alexander Bradley, a Hernandez friend, who fired the fatal shots.
Jurors saw surveillance pictures showing Hernandez and Bradley, who's now the prosecution's star witness, near the Theater District murder scene in July of 2012. Also the silver SUV with Rhode Island plates witnesses described. It was hidden for a year in Hernandez's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut.
Friday, the jury will visit the crime scene and the Cure Lounge, where de Abreu allegedly bumped into Hernandez.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports
