Aaron Hernandez trial: Heartbreaking scene as 4-year-old daughter shows up to court

BOSTON — The 4-year-old girl cried that she missed her father, cried that she wanted to see him. And so her mother scooped her up and brought her here on Wednesday afternoon, to Room 906 of the Suffolk County Courthouse for a brief and emotional and likely confusing visit.

Just before 4 o’clock, just before the end of another day of jury deliberation without a verdict, in walked Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, carrying in her arms the daughter she shares with Aaron Hernandez. Shayanna and Aaron aren’t married, but she recently took his name anyway. It was the first time their daughter has come to court to see her dad.

Hernandez, the former New England Patriots star, is already a convicted killer, serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd in North Attleborough, Massachusetts. He is currently awaiting a jury verdict on charges that he killed Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in a 2012 Boston drive-by shooting.

A day of deliberations without a verdict ends with a short proceeding, with all parties present. There the jury informs the judge that it needs to recess until the following morning. It lasts but a few minutes.

As Hernandez was brought from a holding cell downstairs into the courtroom, his head snapped up at the unexpected vision of his daughter. He beamed a smile, his entire face lighting up. So, too, did his daughter’s. They were separated by a few rows of benches, a courtroom bar and, of course, a pack of officers, but in that fleeting moment, they were daddy and daughter. After being told to take his seat at the defense table, Hernandez turned back four times and smiled, offering a little wave.



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