The man who at one point appeared to be on track to serve as the star witness in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial has not one but two murder charges of his own to worry about.
According to the Taunton (Mass.) Gazette, Carlos Ortiz will be arraigned later this month on a new murder charge. While the article provides no details, it’s unrelated to the Odin Lloyd murder case.
A grand jury indicted Ortiz last month on charges of murder in connection with the death of Lloyd, who was fatally shot in June 2013. Hernandez has been imprisoned without bail while awaiting trial for Lloyd’s murder.
Early in the investigation, it appeared that Ortiz would provide key details leading to a conviction of Hernandez. Prosecutors reportedly have abandoned plans to rely on Ortiz as a witness, given conflicts in his version of the events and an alleged history of drug use and abuse.