Police in Chicago has said they are releasing the Osundairo brothers who were arrested and potential suspects in the attack of Empire actor Jussie Smollett and that they won’t be charged.
Chicago PD in a statement made available said: “Due to new evidence as a result of today’s interrogations, the individuals questioned by police in the ‘Empire’ case have now been released without charging.”
READ: Neighbours Cast Doubts On Jussie Smollett’s Attack Story
Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi added that detectives have “additional investigative work to complete.”
The brothers Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo who are also actors flew out to Nigeria on the same night after the attack and were picked up from the airport shortly after returning. A search warrant executed on their residence during their absence returned several items including bottles of bleach which investigators entered as ‘evidence’ while booking the brothers for battery.
But hours later, Chicago Police said the grilling of the brawny brothers revealed new information that led to them being let loose.
Chicago cops said Ola and Abel “have a relationship” with Smollett. Their lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, also confirmed that the brothers have worked on Smollett’s hit Fox drama series and that the three men are gym buddies who worked out together.
Ola played a prison inmate on “Empire” and had a part on the NBC series “Chicago P.D.” last year, according to information on his IMDb page.
Smollett is one of the brothers’ nearly 19,000 followers on their joint Instagram account, which features photos of the duo working out.