It’s been nearly four years since Aaron Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder. The former Patriots tight end is currently serving a life sentence in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd, but Hernandez has also been charged in the 2012 drive-by slayings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
Jury selection is currently underway in that trial and according to the Associated Press, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has been added to the list of possible witnesses by Hernandez’s lawyers. Belichick joins offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels on the list, though as Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio notes, lawyers typically “pump up the list with an overly broad list of names in order to conceal the actual case strategy that would arise if the lawyers listed only the witnesses who actually will testify.”
Put another way: It’s unclear why Belichick -- or McDaniels -- would be called to the witness stand.
Meanwhile, TMZ reports that prosecutors are asking a judge to admit as evidence transcripts of 2015 phone calls from Hernandez to former college teammate and Dolphins center Mike Pouncey, which they feel could help prove that Hernandez was responsible for the 2012 double-murders.
