Court says Aaron Hernandez defense team must remove new items from his home before jury tour
Prosecutors trying a first-degree murder case against former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez learned an important lesson from a famous first-degree murder trial 20 years ago against another former NFL star, an ESPN legal analyst says.
Apparently alerted by the way OJ Simpson’s home was staged prior to a jury visit in his trial, in which Simpson was acquitted of the crime, the prosecution in the Aaron case toured the Hernandez home on Wednesday. By comparing the home’s current condition to police investigative photos taken in 2013, it was clear that religious items and football memorabilia had been added, reports ESPN. On Thursday, the judge in the case agreed with the government that the added items must be removed or covered. On Friday, the jury is expected to visit the Hernandez home, which he hasn’t lived in since his arrest in 2013.
In Simpson’s case, the jury saw family photos and a Bible prominently placed in his home before their visit, “so that the jurors got the idea OJ Simpson was a deeply religious family man,” says ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson in a video report linked to the article.
The Hernandez prosecutors “obviously learned their lesson” from the Simpson case, Munson said, and executed a trial play “they must feel very good about.”
Hernandez, 25, is accused of playing a role in the execution-style slaying of Odin Lloyd, 27, in June 2013. Lloyd’s bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez’ home, reports Courthouse News.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Footprint, DNA links ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez to murder, gov’t says; defense cites lack of motive”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “OJ Simpson Book, ‘If I Did It,’ a Best-Seller”
