General News

Jussie Smollett’s attorney grills cop over evidence found by Post reporter

CHICAGO – The defense at Jussie Smollett’s trial on Tuesday grilled a city police detective over a key piece of evidence that was recovered by a Post reporter.

A hot sauce bottle with the odor of bleach was found by the reporter more than a week after an alleged attack on Jan. 29, 2019, where the “Empire” star claimed two men splashed him with the chemical and hurled racist and homophobic slurs.

Smollett’s attorney Nenye Uche asked city police Detective Michael Theis, one of the lead investigators in the case if the hot sauce bottle had contained the bleach. The detective replied yes, and then responded that police hadn’t found the evidence.

“This was an investigation you were taking seriously, correct?” Uche said.

“Yes,” Theis replied.

“It was a journalist who found it?” Uche asked.

“Yes,” the detective answered.

A hot sauce bottle with the odor of bleach was found by the reporter more than a week after an alleged attack on Jan. 29, 2019.
A hot sauce bottle with the odor of bleach was found by the reporter more than a week after an alleged attack on Jan. 29, 2019.
G.N.Miller/NYPost

The prosecution objected to follow-up questions about whether The Post reporter was yelled at when she notified Chicago cops and whether officers “were upset she found the bottle.”

“The journalist found the bottle because nobody looked for it!” Uche said, eliciting another objection.

Judge James Linn sustained the objections. Uche rested his case and the jury then broke.

Smollett's defense attorney Nenye Uche speaks with the press outside the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Smollett’s defense attorney Nenye Uche speaks with the press outside the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
ZUMAPRESS.com
The Chile Habanero hot sauce bottle was found by a reporter investigating the scene following the police investigation of the scene.
The Chile Habanero hot sauce bottle was found by a reporter investigating the scene following the police investigation of the scene.
G.N.Miller/NYPost
Brothers Olabinjo Osundairo, right, and Abimbola Osundairo, appear outside the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago.
Brothers Olabinjo Osundairo, right, and Abimbola Osundairo, appear outside the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago.
AP / Charles Rex Arbogast

Smollett is accused of faking the attack with Nigerian brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, while the defense claims the actor really was the victim of a hate crime at the hands of the pair.

The actor had told cops two Donald Trump-loving men beat him up and put a noose around his neck. A container for the bleach was not initially recovered by investigators, but The Post reporter found the hot sauce bottle nine days after the alleged attack, on Feb. 7.

Finding the bottle had an odor like bleach or chlorine, she notified police.

“Are you trying to do our job?” one detective snapped when The Post called police to alert them to the possible evidence. The brothers, who said they were paid by Smollett to stage the attack, allegedly admitted to police that the hot sauce bottle was used to fill with bleach and poured onto the actor.

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Tina Sanders

Tina is the mind behind Gruntstuff.com, and she ideated it when she was working for an online magazine company where she used to cover US-based headlines news. She holds a degree in journalism and has more than 4.5 years of experience in an online magazine company. She had the idea while working there but when she was quite sure about starting something on her own, she took the risk and left the job to start Gruntstuff. Since then she added a few team members, and along with them, she creates General US news content on the site.

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