In truth, though, circumstantial evidence can sometimes be compelling and highly reliable. When combined with a touch of supporting direct evidence it can be the strongest of all cases as it does not rely on frequently unreliable eyewitnesses. As prosecutors often say in their summations, circumstantial evidence has no motive to lie and no problem with its eyesight.
In a Massachusetts’ courtroom, the murder trial of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in the death of Odin Lloyd may prove to be a textbook study of circumstantial evidence and its struggle to overcome reasonable doubt and celebrity status.
Prosecutors are meticulously building a case using surveillance video and other evidence to link Hernandez to the killing. Surveillance video already publicly disclosed depicts a pre-homicide meeting between Hernandez and his friends Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, also charged in the case, at the Hernandez home in North Attleboro. Hernandez is seen walking around with a gun and then departing with his two pals in what appears to be a Nissan Altima.
Later video shows Hernandez, Ortiz and Wallace making a fuel stop where driver Hernandez purchases what will later prove to be a very important pack of Bubblicious gum. Prosecutors assert that a trail of text messages and more surveillance video, this time from a vantage point across the street from Lloyd’s apartment, show Lloyd entering the vehicle in response to a Hernandez invite. Later at a time consistent with the time necessary to travel from Lloyd’s apartment, a vehicle is seen entering a remote industrial park approximately a mile from the Hernandez home.
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