There’s a strange dynamic unfolding in the ongoing stack of news reports regarding the Aaron Hernandez case. With so many publications dumping as many details as possible into a single story, key details are being glossed over.
For example, an article from the North Attleboro Sun Chronicle buried the very big news that police interviewed Carlos Ortiz the day before Hernandez (and, separately, Ortiz) was arrested. This points to Ortiz as a key witness whose cooperation with police may have touched on issues far more significant than, as mentioned by the Sun-Chronicle, the contents of Hernandez’s apartment and the whereabouts of Ortiz’s phone.
Other reports have pushed key facts regarding the ongoing investigation into the background. For example, the Hartford Courant drops at the very bottom of a story regarding the car accident that claimed the life of a Hernandez family member to whom investigators wanted to speak news that a grand jury wants to talk to the man who recently sued Hernandez for shooting him in the face. (ESPN buried the same news at the bottom of an item focusing on Hernandez’s denial of gang ties.)
Two key facts should have been highlighted, possibly with completely separate stories. First, a grand jury already has been convened. Second, the investigation is broad enough to reach to Florida for the purposes of looking at a related incident. (ABC News previously reported that investigators were probing a 2007 shooting possibly involving Hernandez; Gainesville police have denied that any other law-enforcement agency has asked for information about the incident.)
A passing reference to a grand jury also appears at the bottom of an item in the Boston Herald with a headline that focuses on court papers citing cocaine. Buried there is news that Hernandez’s barber, Roberto Olivares, has cooperated with authorities. Per the report, Olivares identified the apartment that Hernandez maintained roughly 20 minutes from his North Attleboro home.
These pieces of information, added stories without explanation or emphasis, indicate that a grand jury is working diligently and thoroughly to determine who should be officially charged in connection with the death of Odin Lloyd. It also demonstrates that witnesses otherwise aligned with Hernandez are cooperating, which generally could be very bad news for Hernandez.