Tino Tuiasosopo, Ronaiah's Cousin, Talked To Manti Te'o On Phone As Lennay Kekua: REPORT

REPORT: Voice Of Te'o's Fake Girlfriend Revealed
Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te'o, a linebacker from Notre Dame, speaks to his fellow nominees at a news conference prior to the announcement of the trophy winner, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te'o, a linebacker from Notre Dame, speaks to his fellow nominees at a news conference prior to the announcement of the trophy winner, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Just when it seemed that the dramatis personae of the Manti Te'o hoax may have been set another character has been introduced.

The New York Post reported on Friday morning that Tino Tuiasosopo, cousin of alleged hoax orchestrator Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, was the voice pretending to be Te'o's girlfriend during the hours of phone conversations. Per the Post, a cousin of Ronaiah's said "There is no doubt whatsoever that it’s Tino" after hearing the voicemails from "Lennay Kekua" that were played during an interview of Te'o conducted by Katie Couric that aired on Thursday.

This report comes one day after the New York Daily News reported that Ronaiah used a "falsetto voice" pretending to be Lennay Kekua on the phone with Te'o. The News cited Ronaiah's lawyer in its report, which came just hours before the interview with Te'o conducted by Couric was broadcast on Thursday.

Before Couric's interview with Te'o aired on Thursday, she released audio from three of the voicemails, one of which was from the day before Kekua "died" in September 2012.

When Couric played the audio during the interview, Te'o said: "It sounds like a girl, doesn't it?"

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot