The gun used in an unsolved 2012 Boston double homicide, which authorities believe Aaron Hernandez was involved in, was found and positively identified through ballistics. Police discovered the firearm, along with a locked safe, in the car of a 19-year-old Bristol, Conn., resident, CBS 3 Springfield reports.
Police arrested Jailene Diaz-Ramos of Bristol, Hernandez's hometown, on June 21 after finding a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver in the trunk of her car. She was initially arrested after crashing her car in June on the I-91 highway, according to CBS 3.
The gun was discovered in a black suitcase as police inventoried her vehicle.
Police sent the firearm for ballistics testing, which several weeks later positively matched it to the bullets found at the scene of the 2012 double homicide in Boston.
Diaz-Ramos told police during her booking that the weapon belonged to a friend she identified as "Chicago." She also said she gave her football player friends a ride to work.
Authorities believe Hernandez was involved in the unsolved 2012 drive-by that left two men dead in Boston. Linking Hernandez to the shooting could strengthen the prosecution's case against him if they are able to prove Odin Lloyd, the semi-pro football player whose death Hernandez is charged with, knew about the ex-NFL star's involvement.
Prosecutors claimed during Hernandez's arraignment to have video from the night of Lloyd's death showing Hernandez holding a firearm and saying, "You can't trust anyone anymore."
A locked safe was also discovered. Based on information provided by Carlos Ortiz, a suspect charged in connection to Lloyd's murder, investigators believe Hernandez hid the weapon used to murder the semi-pro football player in a box.
Surveillance video shows Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's fiancée, removing a heavy object in a trash bag from her home, placing it in her car and driving off. When she returned later, video shows the trash bag no longer in her trunk. She is not currently a suspect.
Police are awaiting a search warrant to open the safe from Diaz-Ramos' car. Her link to Hernandez, if any, is unclear at this time. She was released on $1,000 bail and is due in court on Oct. 25.
Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Lloyd, along with five other gun-related charges. The 23-year-old pleaded not guilty and is being held in a Bristol jail without bail while he awaits trial.
