The grand jury investigating the June 17 death of Odin Lloyd returned indictments Friday for two women with ties to Aaron Hernandez.
The Bristol County, Massachusetts District Attorney’s office said Friday that Tanya Singleton, Hernandez’s cousin, and Shayanna Jenkins, his fiancée, both were charged in connection with Lloyd’s death.
Singleton, who already faces a criminal contempt charge, was indicted for conspiracy to accessory after the fact. Authorities say she drove with another person charged in the case, Ernest Wallace, to Georgia days after the shooting, after he told her what had happened. She purchased a bus ticket for Wallace to travel from Georgia to Florida.
Shayanna Jenkins was charged with perjury. She is accused of lying when she testified before the grand jury. Jenkins is not in custody and will be summoned for arraignment, authorities said.
Investigators previously had said both women made “overt attempts” to mislead the investigation.
Earlier Friday, another associate of the former New England Patriot star was indicted in a murder-related charge in connection with Lloyd’s death.
The returned a single-count indictment that charges Carlos Ortiz, 27, of Bristol, with accessory to murder after the fact. Hernandez, a Bristol native, has been charged with murder in the case.
Ortiz was not indicted for the illegal firearms charge he previously faced. He was scheduled to appear in Attleboro District Court Friday, but the indictment moves his case to Superior Court in Fall River.
Ortiz gave investigators a detailed account of the events the night Lloyd was shot to death in an industrial park near Hernandez’s home in North Attleborough, Mass.
Prosecutors Thursday said he has since changed his story, but still denies being an eyewitness to Lloyd’s shooting. Initially, Ortiz told authorities Hernandez and a third suspect, Ernest Wallace, and Hernandez both got out of a car the men were in with Lloyd shortly before he was killed.
Ortiz has since told investigators Hernandez was alone with the victim. Court documents show that investigators found a white towel at the crime scene; Ortiz was shown on surveillance footage wearing a white towel earlier in the night. Only Hernandez has been charged with murder.
The day after Lloyd’s shooting, Ortiz has told investigators, he accompanied Hernandez and Wallace when they exchanged the Nissan Altima used the night of the shooting for a different vehicle. Ortiz and Wallace then drove the car back to Bristol, authorities have said.
Ortiz is the fourth individual the grand jury has indicted in connection with the shooting. Hernandez was charged with murder and five illegal weapons counts. Wallace was charged with accessory after the fact to murder, and prosecutors indicated Thursday that more charges may be coming. Tanya Singleton, a cousin of Hernandez, was indicted for criminal contempt after she refused to testify before the grand jury.
By JENNY WILSON, The Hartford Courant