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Aaron Hernandez's fate may be sealed Friday with the testimony of his fiancée

Shayanna Jenkins is expected to testify Friday in the murder trial of Aaron Hernandez. (AP)
Shayanna Jenkins is expected to testify Friday in the murder trial of Aaron Hernandez. (AP)

It's been more than two weeks since Shayanna Jenkins has been seen at the murder trial of Aaron Hernandez, her high school boyfriend turned NFL star turned father of her 2-year-old daughter turned accused murderer, three times over.

Bristol County (Mass.) prosecutors have piled up evidence that the former New England Patriots star murdered Odin Lloyd in 2013, from putting Hernandez in the same car as Lloyd the night he was killed to detailing a bullet casing found in the rental car Hernandez was driving. The one thing missing? The murder weapon.

That's where Jenkins comes in. Or could come in.

Jenkins' absence from court has only increased speculation on what, if anything, she'll say when called.

Friday, we may find out. The Associated Press, citing anonymous sources, reports Jenkins will be called to the stand Friday at Fall River Justice Center. The 25-year-old is potentially the prosecution's star witness and may provide the trial's most explosive moments yet.

(UPDATE: Shayanna Jenkins took the stand Friday morning. Stay tuned to Yahoo Sports for updates on her testimony.)

The prosecution believes Jenkins can finish Hernandez, testifying about the guns he owned, the conversations he had in the days after Lloyd's body was found and decipher what appear to be coded text messages and jailhouse phone conversations.

Most importantly, she may be able to lead them to the Glock 21 Generation 3, .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol that prosecutors believe is the murder weapon, yet cops have never found.

The jury has been shown home surveillance video taken the day after Lloyd's death of Jenkins carrying a black garbage bag out of the basement of the house she and Hernandez shared. She previously stated, according to court documents, it contained a "box" and some children's clothing. She then drove off in a car she borrowed from her sister – Lloyd's girlfriend – and has testified she threw the bag in a dumpster, although she claims she can't recall its location. The Commonwealth has strongly implied the box contained the murder weapon and Hernandez instructed her to dispose of it.

If Jenkins identifies it as such, then this case is all but over.

Jenkins has thus far remained staunchly loyal to Hernandez, the football star she began dating back at Bristol (Conn.) Central High School, where she ran track. She moved in with him in 2010, when he joined the Patriots.

While the two were not officially engaged when Hernandez was arrested nearly two years ago, these days she wears a sizable diamond on her left hand during court appearances, where she was always immaculately dressed. Hernandez called her "Boss Lady" in his cell phone contacts and he has repeatedly shared brief conversations, smiles and mouthed "I love you" to her when she visits.

Shayanna has, on occasion, found herself a tense few feet away from her younger sister, Shaneah, who dated Lloyd for about a year. Shaneah Jenkins comes to court far more regularly and sits in the first row of the prosecution side.

This isn't just a case about the alleged crimes of an NFL star; it's about one sister whose boyfriend is accused of slaying the others'.

Shayanna Jenkins has her own legal issues. She's charged with repeatedly lying to a grand jury convened in the case, mostly about the presence of guns in their house (Hernandez is also facing weapons charges).

Her testimony is seen as so important to this case, Superior Court Judge E. Susan Garsh offered Jenkins full immunity on those charges, as well as anything she would say on the stand.

With no charges possible, Jenkins can no longer invoke her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent against self-incrimination. She must testify or face contempt of court charges. If she refuses to testify, Garsh could order her into custody immediately and have her hauled out of the fifth-floor courtroom here, like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Jenkins could also agree to testify but provide evasive or uncertain answers, lots of "I don't recalls" that could lead to some intense examination by prosecutor William McCauley. That may allow her to comply with court, yet not technically flip on Hernandez.

It is both the most anticipated moment left in this lengthy trial, where the prosecution is expected to rest its case sometime in the next week.

Shaneah Jenkins, second from left, was the girlfriend of Odin Lloyd. (AP)
Shaneah Jenkins, second from left, was the girlfriend of Odin Lloyd. (AP)

Whether the trial has done anything to pry the couple apart remains to be seen.

The prosecution has presented testimony from the couple's babysitter as well as a female club goer, who both stated Hernandez made intimate advances on them just two nights before Lloyd was found dead. While this has little to nothing to do with Lloyd's murder, it does paint Hernandez as an unfaithful boyfriend. Which was the prosecution's fairly transparent point.

Then there is the money. While Hernandez signed a $40 million contract extension with the Patriots in 2012, he played just one season under those terms. His first two years were on a rookie deal. Whatever financial resources he has left are assuredly being drained quickly by a high-profile legal team. There is also a pending double homicide trial in Boston where Hernandez stands accused of a drive-by killing in 2012. Plus myriad civil suits he faces or will face.

If Hernandez isn't broke now, he almost assuredly will be soon. Whatever Jenkins once thought her man was, he no longer is and never will be again.

Is that worth staying loyal too? Is it enough to rattle Jenkins out of silence? Has her absence from the fifth-floor courtroom been a sign of distress?

Or is she just a young mother under considerable stress who sees her time better served staying back in the North Attleboro, Mass., dream home she and Hernandez once shared. Perhaps she still believes in his innocence or has nothing to add. Perhaps it's too much to admit that she took part in the cover-up of the murder of her own sister's boyfriend.

On Friday the speculation could end. Shayanna Jenkins could be called to the stand and sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The fate of her fiancée may hang in the balance.