Barry Bonds had Greg Anderson. Aaron Hernandez has Tanya Singleton.
Via the Associated Press, the cousin of the former Patriots tight end and alleged triple murderer has pleaded guilty to criminal contempt arising from her refusal to testify before the grand jury investigating the Odin Lloyd murder case. Singleton’s lawyer said in court on Monday that she also will plead guilty to criminal contempt in connection with a refusal to testify before the grand jury investigating the July 2012 murders of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston.
Singleton continues to maintain her innocence on charges that she served as an accessory after the fact to the murder of Odin Lloyd.
While bad news for Singleton, her refusal to answer questions under oath could be good news for Hernandez, making it harder for prosecutors to prove that he killed anyone.
But Singleton presumably will face criminal contempt charges again when the various murder cases head to trial and Singleton refuses to testify again. The decision of a family member to refuse to testify could persuade some jurors to think that the accused is guilty -- assuming there’s otherwise enough evidence to overcome the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.