Bomb scare halts Aaron Hernandez trial
A bomb threat called in to the courthouse where the murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is being held has temporarily halted proceedings.
Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh said Thursday that the trial was being suspended while the building was evacuated.
Testimony in the Hernandez case began Jan. 29. He is accused in the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins.
Before the courtroom cleared, the big news by Judge Susan Garsh was on jailhouse calls in which Aaron Hernandez discusses giving money to his cousin, Tanya Singleton. "Obviously don't say nothing." Singleton did as she was told by Hernandez, spending seven months in jail for refusing to testify before a grand jury.
Hernandez is recorded as saying that he set up trust funds for Singleton's two sons. The amounts of $75,000 and $100,000 could grow to several thousand in time, according to Aaron Hernandez. The trust funds were never set up.
The Fall River Justice Center was swept by Massachusetts State Police. No explosives were found, and employees were let back in about an hour later.
Court resumed at 2 p.m., with Garsh telling jurors that there was no reason to believe the interruption was related to the Hernandez case.
Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.
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