Prosecutors file motion to dismiss Hernandez fiancee's perjury charge
FALL RIVER — Prosecutors have filed a motion to dismiss the perjury charge against Shayanna Jenkins, the fiancee of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez.
In the motion filed today in Superior Court, prosecutors noted Jenkins' testimony over two days in late March during Hernandez’s murder trial in Bristol County Superior Court.
Prosecutors said: "Her testimony at the trial concerned transactions and matters that are the subject of this indictment. As a result, the commonwealth may not further prosecute the defendant on the above-mentioned indictment and this indictment should be dismissed."
Jenkins, 25, is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on Friday morning for a status review hearing. Jenkins is charged with one count of perjury based on allegations that she lied 29 times to a grand jury in 2013.
Jenkins testified during Hernandez’s trial after receiving a grant of immunity on Feb. 10 to testify as a prosecution witness.
Meanwhile, Hernandez’s lawyers say that "no rational jury” could have convicted Hernandez of first-degree murder in newly filed court documents seeking an appeal of Hernandez’s conviction.
Hernandez’s attorneys argue that jurors relied on “improper speculation, conjecture and guesswork” to convict Hernandez, 25, for the June 17, 2013, murder of Odin Lloyd in North Attleborough. The defense team said prosecutors never presented any evidence that proved Hernandez acted with malice or intentionally participated in Lloyd’s murder.
The arguments are included in a memorandum Hernandez’s lawyers filed Tuesday in support of a motion asking that Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh enter not guilty verdicts on the charges of murder and illegally carrying a firearm.
The motion is a routine part of the post-verdict appeals process. Garsh rejected a similar defense motion after prosecutors rested their case last month in Hernandez’s 10-week murder trial at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River.
On April 15, jurors convicted Hernandez of first-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole, and illegally carrying a firearm.
The jury convicted Hernandez of first-degree murder after deciding that he had acted with “extreme atrocity or cruelty.” Lloyd, 27, of Dorchester, was shot at least six times at point-blank range with a .45-caliber handgun.
Prosecutors have 30 days to respond to the defense team’s motion for the not-guilty finding. Garsh could issue a ruling based on the written motions, or she could schedule a hearing for oral arguments before making a decision.
This story will be updated.