Aaron Hernandez's Fiancee: I Removed Box At His Request
FALL RIVER (CBS/AP) - The fiancee of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has testified in his murder trial that she removed a box from their basement at his request the day after the slaying.
Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's high school sweetheart and the mother of his 2-year-old daughter, was compelled to testify under a grant of immunity.
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Hernandez is charged in the killing of Lloyd on June 17, 2013. Lloyd, 27, was found shot to death in an industrial park less than a mile from the home Hernandez and Jenkins share.
Jenkins, 25, said Monday that Hernandez called and asked her to remove a box from the basement. Prosecutors have said the box, which was covered in a trash bag, may have held evidence or the murder weapon, which was never found.
"I believe he said it was important, I'm not too sure," Jenkins said, adding that she did not ask and was not told what was inside.
She said she put the box in a black trash bag and placed her daughter's baby clothes on top of the box, "just so nothing was exposed."
"I wasn't necessarily hiding it from certain individuals," Jenkins said.
For the first time on Monday, Jenkins said the box smelled skunky and she thought it contained marijuana.
She said she then put the box in the trunk of her sister Shaneah's car, who is the girlfriend of Lloyd.
Jenkins admitted to "nerves" as she drove around, but said she did not remember where she threw away the box.
"I found a random dumpster, I don't know exactly where it was located," she said.
Jenkins, wearing her large engagement ring, did not look at Hernandez during testimony or when she got off the stand for a break.
Contradictory Testimony
The testimony contradicts in part what she told a grand jury that investigated the killing, saying then that no one told her to remove the box and that it wasn't important to her to do it. She said then that she did not remember where she threw it away. She was charged with perjury for that testimony and has pleaded not guilty.
When asked how she could not remember where she disposed of the box, Jenkins said she was nervous at the time.
"I really had to play a neutral role as far as trying to comfort my sister. Everyone's emotions were kind of on me," Jenkins said.
Her sister, Shaneah Jenkins, who was sitting next to Lloyd's mother, left the courtroom soon afterward. A few minutes later, Shaneah returned, and some jurors glanced toward her as Jenkins continued to testify.
Shayanna Jenkins also testified about what happened after Hernandez came back early the morning of June 18, after he had gone to the North Attleborough police station at the request of investigators.
"I believe I asked him at that point if he did, did it, and he said no," she said.
Caught Cheating
Later, Jenkins wiped away tears as the defense questioned her about her on-again-off-again relationship with Hernandez.
She said she caught him cheating years ago and left their Plainville house for three weeks.
"I saw his phone open, I saw some stuff I didn't like," she said.
But Jenkins said their bond was "too strong" and decided she would compromise on his behavior.
"That included infidelity and everything that came along with it," she said. "I decided that was worth fighting for and I moved back."
The couple exchanged a brief glance before the lunch break as she was leaving the stand and he was being led through a side door to a secure area in the courthouse.
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