The ironclad case prosecutors insist they are building against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in the killing of Odin Lloyd may not be as airtight as authorities would have you believe, according to the SportingNews.com.
The website's observations are based on recent interviews conducted with defense attorneys, including Michael DelSignore, a criminal lawyer based in Bristol County, Mass. where Hernandez remains jailed and held without bail on first-degree murder charges.
"Without a weapon, the prosecution has to rely on the evidence it has, which might not stand up, and on witnesses with criminal pasts " DelSignore told the website.
Despite conducting several searches, including spending several days sweeping a Connecticut lake where officers, based on a tip, suspected Hernandez may have thrown the weapon used to kill the 27-year-old Lloyd, investigators have not been able to locate a murder weapon.
Shortly after taking Hernandez into custody, police also charged and arrested Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace in connection with the crime. Multiple reports have indicated both men have lengthy arrest records and that Ortiz is considering testifying against Hernandez in hopes of securing a lighter sentence for himself.
With all that in mind, DelSignore told the Sporting News he expects attorneys for Hernandez to challenge the prosecution's theory of events at every turn, all in hopes of getting a jury to arrive at their and their client's version of the truth.
"They can say that Aaron didn't know anything about it, and that they're shifting the blame to him,'' DelSignore told the website."They'll also present evidence that Hernandez has a drug problem, that he wasn't aware of what his accomplices were doing, and that he wasn't responsible.''
Long before the murder case ever goes to trial, DelSignore told the website he expects the defense will try to get as much of the evidence as possible thrown out. A major target of their efforts will be the search warrants obtained by police to conduct various searches of Hernandez's home and other property.
"If his lawyers can convince a judge that they were illegally or improperly obtained, evidence like the home-surveillance video of him holding a gun wouldn't survive and would weaken the case," he told Sporting News, adding if the warrants were granted without probable cause the tapes would be "the fruit of a search with no basis.''
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