Shayanna Jenkins, the fiancee of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez who is currently on trial for murder, has pleaded not guilty to a perjury charge, UPI.com reported.
The charge alleges that Jenkins lied to a Massachusetts grand jury concerning disposing evidence pertinent in the murder case against Hernandez. Jenkins is the fifth person to face criminal charges following the June 17 murder of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi pro football player who was dating her sister.
Jenkins admitted before a grand jury that she removed a box from their home a day after Lloyd was killed. Prosecutors believe that box contained the murder weapon used by Hernandez to murder Lloyd. While Jenkins remembered she tossed it into a dumpster. she repeatedly told grand jurors that she forgot where the it was located.
"She was asked what she did to the item that Mr. Hernandez instructed her to get rid of; she repeatedly told the grand jury that she couldn't remember, she didn't know, she'd thrown it in a dumpster, and she couldn't tell anybody where it was," Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg said at the arraignment.
Jenkins' defense attorney Janice Bassil said that her client answered every question asked of her before the grand jury, adding that the prosecution was overreaching with the perjury charge.
Bassil called lead prosecutor William McCauley's questioning of Jenkins "extremely aggressive" and heavy-handed.
Jenkins was released on personal recognizance during her arraignment in Fall River Superior Court on a single perjury count, news reports said. The perjury charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, ESPN reported.
Hernandez has been linked to an investigation into a 2012 dual homicide in Boston. The 23-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the June murder of Lloyd, and is being held without bail, The AP also reported.
