The legal case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez isn’t as strong as it once seemed.
Legal experts have said it’s possible Hernandez could walk free, and now prosecutors will not ask star witness Carlos Ortiz to testify in the case, according to the Taunton Daily Gazette. Prosecutors have filed paperwork indicating they view Ortiz as “completely unreliable,” based on the fact that his story has changed over time.
For months, Ortiz, a codefendant charged with accessory to murder after the fact, was thought to be the key witness in the case against Hernandez, who is charged with the June 17, 2013, murder of Odin Lloyd. The major issues surrounding Hernandez’s case are that Ortiz and Ernest Wallace were both said to be with Hernandez at Lloyd’s death, making it difficult to determine who was involved in the killing and who was merely an accessory to the crime.
In light of the fact that Ortiz’s testimony won’t be used in trial, prosecutors have requested copies of Hernandez’s telephone calls and records of people who have visited him since he entered Bristol County Jail. Prosecutors said the information will show that Hernandez used “coded language” when talking with friends and his fiancee Shayanna Jenkins about his criminal liability in the case.
