BOSTON — Aaron Hernandez's double murder trial resumed Thursday, as a criminalist told the court the alleged murder weapon could not be linked to Hernandez through DNA.
Hernandez is charged in the 2012 fatal shootings of two men he encountered at a Boston nightclub. Prosecutors say Hernandez became enraged when one of the men accidentally bumped into him, causing him to spill his drink. He's accused of opening fire on their car as they waited at a stop light.
A large part of Thursday's testimony surrounded the alleged murder weapon: a .38 caliber revolver.
Boston Police Criminalist Amy Reynolds, a trace evidence supervisor, took the stand first Thursday morning. Reynolds told the court that the gun allegedly used in the murder appeared to have gone through a previous chemincal processing. She also revealed that DNA testing was not done on the alleged murder vehicle, where a small strand of blonde hair was found.
Boston Police Criminalist Julie James, a DNA section supervisor, told the court that the DNA profile on the gun was consistent with being DNA with one or more contributors. James said it was "unsuitable" to return a result -- she confirmed there is no way to connect Hernandez to the alleged murder weapon through DNA.
Next, the mother of Jailene Diaz-Ramos took the stand. (Background: Jailene was in a crash in 2013 -- the gun allegedly used in the 2012 double murder was found in Jailene's car.) The defense said Jailene recently came into more than half-a-million dollars and asked Jailene's mom if, to her knowledge, Jailene had been involved in the marijuana trade. Jailene's mom said no, but revealed that all of the money is now gone.
An AT&T representative then took the stand. According to phone records, Hernandez called his then fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins, on July 16, 2012 at 2:37 a.m. The call first went through a cell tower on Columbus Avenue in the South End. Safiro Furtado and Daniel De'Abreu were gunned down just blocks from the tower minutes earlier.
"Does that indicate that in the 17 seconds of the call that there's movement from one tower to another?" said Prosecutor Patrick Haggan to the ATT rep, Christopher Ritchell.
Ritchell replied, "Yes."
Defense attorney Ronald Sullivan questioned the validity of the cell phone records and suggested anyone could have been using Hernandez's phone in the hours before and after the killings. Ritchell did indicate there was no way of knowing who made the phone call.
Monday, March 6: " Defense in Hernandez double murder trial claims new evidence"
Friday, March 10: "Defense calls for mistrial in Aaron Hernandez double murder trial"
Monday, March 13: "Impending nor'easter forces brief delay in Hernandez trial"
NO COURT TUESDAY, MARCH 14
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