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Shayanna Jenkins: Will She Stand By Aaron Hernandez, Or Tell All On Witness Stand?

By Cheryl Phillips
Published on: 22:11 PST, Mar 26, 2015

Prosecutors in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial will call Shayanna Jenkins, the former Patriots star’s fiancée, to the witness stand on Friday. Although there is a gag order in place, two people with “knowledge of the matter” told the Associated Press that Jenkins will testify in the Odin Lloyd murder case.

Will Shayanna tell all or stand by the man she has had a relationship with since high school? Yahoo! Sports states that Jenkins, 25, is the prosecution’s “star witness,” one who could help them get a guilty verdict if she tells what she knows about Odin Lloyd’s murder.

At the time of Oldin Lloyd’s murder in June 2013, Shayanna was living with Aaron and their two-year-old daughter, Avielle (born November 6, 2012) in Hernandez’s massive North Attleboro home. Both hail from Bristol, Connecticut and have dated since high school.

Jenkins hasn’t been seen in court since March 6, and on that day she was not wearing her enormous diamond engagement ring, prompting some trial watchers to speculate that she may turn on Hernandez.

Ring or no ring, it’s likely that the prosecution is hoping she will change her mind about protecting Hernandez, especially if she watched recent testimony by two female witnesses — the couple’s babysitter and a club promoter.

In early March, the couple’s babysitter, Jennifer Fortier testified that Hernandez kissed her at his “flop house” in Franklin, Massachusetts, but he stopped at her request. Nightclub promoter Kasey Arma testified that she danced with Aaron at a Boston nightclub the weekend of Odin Lloyd’s murder, using the words “charming” and “aggressive” to describe Hernandez.

However, CBS reports that on the days that Jenkins has appeared in court, she would sit behind Hernandez, whisper “I love you” and joke around with him during breaks in testimony. Their exchanges make it appear that she is still smitten with the former NFL star, and will not cave to the prosecution when she takes the stand on Friday.

Prosecutors believe that Jenkins helped Hernandez get rid of the alleged murder weapon, assumed to be a.45-caliber Glock after Odin Lloyd’s murder. The gun was never recovered, but video footage shown during the trial shows Shayanna carrying a large garbage bag out of the couple’s home the day after Lloyd was killed.

Jenkins was granted immunity by the court in February, which means she must testify or she could end up in jail. According to Sports Illustrated‘s legal analyst, Michael McCann, immunity “is often regarded as a positive step for the witness,” but for not for Jenkins.

“While the specific terms of Jenkins’s immunity have not been made public, it is thought that she would not face prosecution if she testified to playing a conspiratorial role in the murder of Lloyd. Jenkins would thus avoid prosecution for several felonies, including accessory after the fact, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. If convicted of these felonies, Jenkins would face the prospect of spending more than two decades in prison.”

Shayanna Jenkin’s testimony is expected to start in the morning on Friday, March 26. A full day of testimony is expect starting at 9 a.m., and the trial will not resume again until Wednesday, April 1. Watch the Aaron Hernandez trial live streaming online here.

[Images: CBS/Twitter]

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