One of the Nigerian brothers in Jussie Smollett trial tells the court they visited 'clubs, strip clubs and bathhouses' together and the actor asked him to buy him 'weed, cocaine and molly'
- Smollett held his hands up in front of a news camera on Wednesday as he arrived for day three of the trial
- Today, Chicago PD Detective Kimberly Murray is on the stand - she interviewed Smollett in hospital on Jan 29
- She said he had minor cuts and bruises on his face, and was 'upset' when he learned the attack was not filmed
- Ola Osundairo, one of the brothers, was pictured arriving at court after proceedings began on Wednesday
- Abel Osundairo told the court that he and Smollett hung out frequently, visiting 'clubs, strip clubs and bathhouses' before the January 29 attack
- He is expected to testify later today about how Smollett paid him and his brother $3500 to carry out attack
- The court was told how Smollett picked a location close to a police surveillance camera so footage of the attack could be given to TV stations
- But that camera was pointing the wrong way at the time, and no footage was recorded
- Smollett claims the brothers duped him and were in disguise on the night they attacked him two years ago
- His attorneys said that the Nigerian brothers are homophobic and 'sophisticated criminals'
- Smollett has been charged with six counts of disorderly conduct - he has pleaded not guilty
Jussie Smollett told two friends to stage an attack on him in front of a police surveillance camera 'for media' - but its lens was pointed the other way at the time, a court heard.
The former Empire star's alleged attempt to fake an anti-gay hate crime included a plot to ensure footage of the beating could be widely shared, Abel Osundairo told Smollett's trial for allegedly lying to police on Wednesday.
But the Chicago street camera was facing the opposite direction when Osundairo and his brother Ola allegedly carried out the instructions in January 2019, jurors were told Wednesday. That meant no footage of the attack - which Smollett is said to have plotted for attention - ever emerged, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The intimate relationship between the two was further revealed by Osunadaio's diet plan for Smollett, on trial for six counts of disorderly conduct over claims he lied to police that he'd suffered a homophobic attack.
Shortly before the attack took place, Smollett asked Osundairo, a fitness expert, to help him get in shape for an upcoming music video shoot, the court heard. That saw the man subsequently held in jail for allegedly attacking Smollett prepare a meal plan that included StarKist tuna, chicken thighs, avocados and shots of apple cider vinegar.
Osundairo said he didn't charge Smollett for the help, as the performer usually picked up the tab when they went out together.
Those claims are in marked contrast to Smollett's attorneys insistence that the Osundairos are homophobes and sophisticated criminals who targeted the actor.
Abel Osundairo took the stand on Wednesday afternoon to testify how Smollett had hired him and his brother, Ola, to attack Smollett in a faked hate crime. He told the court that he visited 'clubs, stripclubs and bathhouses' with Smollett when they were friends, and would buy drugs for him
Osundairo, who is Nigerian, also told the court how he and Smollett, who is gay, would frequent bathhouses and strip clubs together before the beating, which Smollett denies faking.
Abel Osundairo took the stand on Wednesday afternoon to testify how Smollett had hired him and his brother, Ola, to attack Smollett in a faked hate crime.
Brothers Ola and Bola Osundairo told police that Smollett hired them to beat him because he felt producers of the show he starred on, Empire, didn't do enough to protect him after he received a racist and homophobic letter on set.
The brothers also told police that Smollett sent himself the letter for attention, according to police sources.
On his way in to court, Abel - who has been accused of being homophobic - was calm as he breezed up the courthouse steps.
'I'm here to do what I've got to do. Not to tell my truth but to tell the truth. You don't have to be nervous when you got the truth on your side,' he said.
Once he was on the stand, he told the jury that he and Smollett were friends after being introduced by a mutual acquaintance. He then said he'd brief part on Empire, standing in for one of Smollett's love interests.
Throughout their friendship, he testified that he and Smollett visited 'clubs, stripclubs and a bathhouse' together. He said the pair attended one of Smollett's concerts, and that Smollett asked him to buy him 'weed, cocaine and molly.'
Jussie Smollett arrives in court with his mother Janet, sister Jurnee and other members of his family on Wednesday for the third day of the trial
Smollett and his mother Janet arriving at the court in Chicago on Wednesday for day three of the trial. It remains unclear i fhe will testify
Smollett escorted his mother into court as he has done every day since the trial began. He maintains he is innocent
Smollett's defense claims he didn't know it was Ola and Bola who attacked him because they were in disguise and wearing masks. He maintains that he thought one of them was white, and claims the brothers are 'sophisticated criminals' who set the attack up after pretending to befriend him.
On Wednesday, the third day of the trial, Chicago Police Department Detective Kimberly Murray testified that she went to the hospital to interview Smollett after the incident and noticed he had 'minor' injuries on his face.
She told the court in Chicago that he couldn't understand why the attack hadn't been caught on surveillance cameras and was 'upset', that it hadn't.
Abel and Ola Osundairo are the brothers who say Smollett paid them to attack him. They are expected to take the stand as witnesses at the trial, and to repeat their previous claim that he paid them $3500 to stage the attack
Murray is now being cross-examined by Jussie's defense team.
Yesterday, Chicago Detective Michael Theis told the jury of six men and six women - ten of whom are white, one of whom is black and one of whom is Hispanic - that the entire police department was determined to find who was responsible for the attack when they first believed it was a hate crime.
'It was horrible. It was a hate crime. The noose.
'The bleach. Everyone from the mayor on down wanted answers,' Theis testified, according to CBS Chicago, which Judge James Linn allowed into the courtroom on Tuesday morning, after refusing to let most journalists inside for jury selection then limiting the number who he will allow to observe the trial because of COVID restrictions.
Theis also testified that after the initial attack was reported to police, Smollett 'tightened' the rope that the brothers had put around his neck to make it more like a noose before cops arrived at his apartment.
Under cross-examination by Smollett's attorney however, he admitted that he'd heard from another member of the Empire cast that Bola, who'd worked on set, attacked them for being gay. The police never followed it up.
Smollett's attorney also prompted him to reveal they had found homophobic social media posts on the brothers' phone, where homosexual men were referred to as 'fruits'.
Abel Osundairo is shown arriving at court to testify on Wednesaday with his attorney. He said he was not nervous because he had 'the truth on his side'
Jussie Smollett was sent this letter at the studio in Chicago where he filmed Empire on January 22, a week before the 'attack'. The brothers told police that he hired them because he was angry the studio didn't do more to protect him afterwards
Jurors were shown footage of the Nigerian brothers involved in the alleged hate crime with Smollett two days before buying the supplies used in the attack
This is the rope purchased by the brothers to place around Smollett's neck in the days before the 'hoax' attack
The detective on Tuesday testified that he thinks Smollett tightened the rope around his neck before police arrived to make it look more like a noose
They intend to argue that the pair pretended to befriend Jussie, with the intention of later attacking him for being gay.
The jury of six men and six women (ten of whom are white, one of whom is black and one of whom is Hispanic), was shown two photos of him - one taken before cops arrived at his apartment and one taken afterwards - that suggested he'd tightened the rope for effect.
Under cross-examination by Smollett's attorney however, he admitted that he'd heard from another member of the Empire cast that Bola, who'd worked on set, attacked them for being gay. The police never followed it up.
Smollett's attorney also prompted him to reveal they had found homophobic social media posts on the brothers' phone, where homosexual men were referred to as 'fruits'.
He also said that someone else that another gay cast member of Empire complained that Ola had attacked him because he is gay.
The trial is expected to last a week.
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