New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft could be called to testify in the murder trial of former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
Documents released Monday by the Bristol Superior Court Clerk's Office show that Belichick, Kraft and former Florida Gators teammates Brandon Spikes and Mike Pouncey are all listed as "potential witnesses" in Hernandez's trial, which is scheduled to get underway on Jan. 9. Spikes is a former Patriot and now plays for the Buffalo Bills. Pouncey plays for the Miami Dolphins.
Also included on the list of potential witnesses are Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, his cousin, Tanya Singleton, and Oscar Hernandez, an associate of Aaron Hernandez who was charged with lying during a gun trafficking investigation related to the murder case against the former Patriots player.
Prosecutors submitted a list of 305 people they might call as witnesses during the trial.
Hernandez's defense attorneys filed a motion last month asking prosecutors to pare down the witness list, but a judge denied that request last week. The judge did, however, urge the two sides to work to pare down the list "to the extent practical to avoid an unnecessarily protracted trial."
NECN legal analyst Randy Chapman said the prosecution has been "over-inclusive" with their witness list.
"Anybody who was remotely connected has been included in the list of witnesses, so later on, if they have to call some of the witnesses, the defendant won't be allowed to stand up and say, 'Wait a second, I wasn't given notice of this particular witness,'" he said.
U.S. & World
Hernandez is charged in the 2013 killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. Lloyd's body was found in an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez's North Attleborough, Massachusetts, home.
He also has pleaded not guilty in the 2012 fatal shootings of two men after a chance encounter at a Boston nightclub.
