Maid: Hernandez messed with home surveillance camera

March 3, 2015 7:44 pm

By: Melissa Randall

A former housekeeper for Aaron Hernandez testifying Tuesday that she saw him fidgeting with a home security camera the day after he allegedly killed Odin Lloyd. Glaucia Santos says the basement ‘man cave’ reeked of weed on June 18, 2013. That’s where she saw the former Patriot messing with the surveillance system.

“He was using his hands for 3 to 5 minutes up on that camera,” said the maid through an interpreter.

Santos says she made a noise to alert him she was there so she could get back to work. Hernandez left the room after that. The maid also testified that later that same day the ex-NFL player’s fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins, was acting odd while on the phone.

“She seemed to be nervous. She was crying. She was looking towards the door,” said Santos.

A cell phone expert from T-Mobile also took the stand on day 19 of Hernandez’s first murder trial. Raymond MacDonald identified a series of calls and text messages on Lloyd’s phone.

Prosecutors also had him read allowed a lengthy text conversation between Lloyd and Hernandez in the days and then hours before Lloyd was killed. Prosecutors say after the conversation Hernandez and two friends picked up Lloyd at his Dorchester home, drove him to the industrial park, and shot him.

During the cell phone testimony Hernandez was seen whispering with his counsel. The messages on Lloyd’s phone will be key in establishing a time line and proving who he was with. Interestingly though, the same messages were missing from Hernandez’s cell phone. They were presumably deleted before he handed the blackberry over.

Trooper David Mackin, a fingerprint expert with the Massachusetts State Police, also took the stand Tuesday. He testified that prints belonging to Hernandez, his co-defendants Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace and Lloyd were all found inside a Nissan Altima rented by Hernadnez. On Monday Lloyd’s younger sister testified to having watched her brother get into that car. It was the last time he was seen.

No fingerprints were found on the .22 caliber Jimenez gun investigators located near the crime scene. Nor were any prints found on the .45 caliber spent shell casings including the one found in the rental car. The murder weapon has still not been found.

The defense was last up for the day. During his cross examination of the witness attorney James Sultan threw several jabs at the finger print expert. He also challenged Trooper Mackin’s credentials.

“Mass State Police allow you to do this work? Right? But nobody certified you. Right Trooper Mackin?” He asked. “Correct,” replied Mackin.

On Monday the State re-filed paperwork asking the judge to allow testimony from long time Hernandez pal, Alexander Bradley. Bradley has accused Hernandez of shooting him in the face in February of 2013. Tuesday the defense responded to that motion opposing the request. No word yet on when the judge will make a ruling.

Melissa Randall