The lawyer overseeing the trust Aaron Hernandez left behind to care for his daughter said the deceased football player’s ex-fiancé should be removed as the girl’s conservator over suspicious spending.
Attorney David Schwartz said Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez’s spending ‘merits scrutiny’ in court documents after she requested a $10,000 from the trust to cover 10-year-old Avielle’s dance lessons.
Jenkins-Hernandez already receives about $150,000 per-year – which has amounted to $832,040.83 since Hernandez’s death by suicide in prison in 2017 – from the trust which the football player left behind to care for their daughter.
O’Regan noted a number of other suspicious withdrawals that Jenkins-Hernandez has made from the trust, and questioned how they could be related to Avielle’s care. Jenkins-Hernandez in turn requested Schwartz be removed as trustee of the trust.
Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez and her and Aaron Hernandez’s daughter Avielle, now 10
Aaron Hernandez seen during his trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd. He was sentenced to life
Hernandez, once a star tight end for the New England Patriots, hung himself with prison bedsheets after being sentenced to life in prison for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
After Jenkins-Hernandez requested the $10,000, Schwartz denied the request and filed court documents with attorney Robert O’Regan asking she be removed as Avielle’s conservator.
The filing pointed out a litany of suspicious expenses drawn from the fund, including $36,858 spent on clothing, $39,347 for home goods, $25,577 in online shopping, and $11,792 in ‘self care’ costs coming from gym memberships and visits to beauty salons.
There was also $18,406,04 worth of ‘unexplained’ ATM withdrawals, and a $3,720.00 payment to Bay Path University in Massachusetts.
In the filing, O’Regan wrote about ‘large amounts of money are spent… with little clear identification of how these disbursements benefit Avielle.’
‘I believe that [Jenkins-Hernandez] has been co-mingling the child’s funds with her own,’ the filing read. ‘I believe that Ms. Jenkins-Hernandez’s ongoing conflict, her almost five-year-long record of excessive expenditures, continuous violation of this court’s decree … and her failure to file an inventory and up to date accounts all indicate that despite what might be her best intentions, Ms. Jenkins-Hernandez is not effectively performing her duties as conservator.’
Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez and daughter Avielle in the courtroom during Aaron Hernandez’s murder trial in 2017
Aaron Hernandez in the courtroom of his murder trial in 2017
Upon being denied the $10,000, Jenkins-Hernandez asked a judge to have Schwartz removed as a trustee and argued he was preventing Avielle from enjoying her favorite pastime. After Schwartz asked for her removal, she defended her spending.
‘Since Aaron’s death, my sole focus has been on raising and providing as stable a life for my children as possible,’ Jenkins-Hernandez told the Boston Globe. ‘All monies I have spent have been with this singular focus in mind, and this will continue to be my focus going forward.’
Jenkins-Hernandez’ lawyer, Stephen Withers, called the accusations from Schwartz ‘much ado about nothing.’
‘What Shayanna has done is focus on her children. Any allegation or insinuation that she’s spending money inappropriately or for any other purpose is absolutely false.’
Aaron Hernandez plays for the patriots at Gillette Stadium in October 2012
Jenkins-Hernandez and Aaron Hernandez. The pair began dating when they were in high school
Jenkins-Hernandez and the disgraced football star began dating when they were in high school.
The couple were engaged, but often on the outs over Hernandez’s repeated infidelity. Avielle was born in 2012.
Jenkins-Hernandez testified for the prosecution during Hernandez’s trial, but maintained his innocence.
She testified that the day after Lloyd was murdered she took a box from the home she shared with Hernandez and got rid of it. It is believed the box may have contained the gun Hernandez used to murder Lloyd.
