A grand jury indicted Shayanna Jenkins, the fiancée of Aaron Hernandez, in connection with the murder of Odin Lloyd. Jenkins was charged with one count of perjury, the Associated Press reports.
A Massachusetts prosecutor announced on Friday that a grand jury has handed an indictment to Jenkins, who is also the mother of Hernandez's child. The Commonwealth hasn't immediately released the specifics of Jenkin's perjury charge.
ARTICLE: Five Facts About Shayanna Jenkins.
Although Jenkins has never been previously charged in the case, court documents released in August suggest investigators believe Jenkins may have hid the weapon used in the murder of Lloyd.
Surveillance video, according to the Hartford Courant, appears to show Jenkins carrying a "rigid object" in a bag to her car on June 18. Jenkins places the bag in her trunk and leaves in her car. When she returns, video shows the object no longer in her trunk.
Carlos Ortiz, who's charged as an accessory to murder after the fact in the Lloyd investigation, reportedly told investigators Hernandez hid at least one weapon in a box in the ex-NFL star's basement. Ortiz's statements, along with "cryptic" text messages between Hernandez and Jenkins, which mention a box in the basement, appear to give police the idea that Jenkins may have hid the murder weapon.
The .45 caliber pistol that police believe was used to kill Lloyd hasn't been recovered.
Tanya Singleton, Hernandez's cousin, was also indicted on a new charge of conspiracy to commit accessory after the fact. It's believed she purchased a bus ticket for Ernest Wallace, another alleged accomplice who is charged as an accessory to murder after the fact.
Ortiz was also in the news on Thursday for changing the story he originally told prosecutors. Prosecutor Patrick Bomberg said during Wallace's bail hearing that Ortiz changed his story from both Hernandez and Wallace exiting the car with Lloyd to just Hernandez exiting the car with Lloyd, who authorities believe was killed shortly after. Lloyd was found dead on June 17 in a North Attleborough industrial park.
It's uncertain what effect Ortiz's change of story will have on his credibility as a witness.
