The trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez is expected to resume Monday after Judge Jeffrey Locke suspended proceedings due to illness working its way through the courthouse. The former New England Patriots Tight End is accused of killing Daniel de Abreu and Safir Furtado on July 16, 2012 outside a nightclub after prosecutors say he became angry over a spilled drink.
Prior to the unexpected day off, jurors were mesmerized for most of last week by the prosecution’s star witness and former best friend of Hernandez, Alexander Bradley, who fingered the football player as the shooter and claimed he was the getaway driver.
His third day on the stand Thursday came to an end with Hernandez’s defense team suggesting Bradley committed perjury over some text message related to his previous grand jury testimony in a related case. Bradley is currently serving time in prison for shooting up a Hartford night club in 2014. He is testifying for the prosecution against Hernandez under a grant of immunity related to the 2012 killings. He claims to have been the getaway driver the night Hernandez allegedly killed de Abreu and Furtado and injured a third person.
On Thursday, Brooke Wilcox also testified for the prosecution. She testified that Hernandez and Bradley showed up at her home just a few hours after the 2012 shooting and claimed Bradley told her Hernandez was a “crazy mother f***er that just did some stupid sh**.” She also told a story of being with Bradley at the hospital days after Hernandez allegedly shot him in 2013 to keep him quiet about the 2012 murder, according to prosecutors. She claimed Bradley told her Hernandez shot him and later told her all the details of he 2o12 killings, including that he drove the SUV and Hernandez fired the fatal shots.
The defense claims Bradley, an admitted drug dealer, actually committed the 2012 shootings as part of a drug deal gone bad. They also claim Bradley got himself shot in Florida during a similar botched drug deal in 2013.
On cross-examination, the defense got Wilcox to admit Bradley supplied her with money and suggested that might give her reason to cover for him in the form of positive testimony. They also suggested she was fearful of him. However, she denied ever lying for him, but she admitted eventually getting a restraining order against him. The defense attempted to suggest the restraining order was further evidence she feared him and would lie on his behalf.
The former Patriots star is already sentenced to life without the possibility of parole when he was convicted nearly two years ago in another murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. That case is on appeal.
Trial will resume Monday and the prosecution may call Hernandez’s brother to the stand. As usual, LawNewz will have live courtroom coverage and analysis of the action.
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