Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Aaron Hernandez, whose rise to elite status in the NFL was ended by charges that he shot and killed a man, has been found guilty of first-degree murder. In 2013, Hernandez was accused of killing the boyfriend of his fiancee's sister.

The verdict comes on the seventh day of a jury's deliberations on counts that ranged from murder to gun and ammunition charges. As the findings were read in a Fall River, Mass., courtroom, Hernandez sat between his lawyers and occasionally shook his head.

The 12-member jury had to reach a unanimous decision on the charge of first-degree murder. In Massachusetts, first-degree murder verdicts also trigger an automatic appeal.

Update at 11:40 a.m. ET: Sentence Of Life Without Parole 

After hearing impact statements from Odin Lloyd's family, Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh has announced that Hernandez will serve a prison sentence for the rest of his natural life, without the possibility of parole.

Lloyd's mother, sister and uncle were among those who spoke about him.

Of her first-born son, Ursula Ward said he was the "best gift I've ever received."

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of life without parole on the murder charge. The defense team said it didn't have much to add, noting the mandatory sentencing guidelines.

Hernandez was 23 when he was arrested in June of 2013 for the murder of Odin Lloyd, 27. The next day, the New England Patriots announced they had cut him from the team.

, evidence in the case "includes surveillance footage, cellphone text messages, rental car records and elements of the crime scene."


That surveillance footage included video from Hernandez's home the night Lloyd was shot, in which he was seen holding an object that prosecutors said was a Glock pistol. His defense team said it was an iPad.

The case surprised many football fans, particularly those who had watched Hernandez emerge as a key player as a tight end for the Patriots.


The case is far from being Hernandez's only legal problem: Last May, he was 

, as prosecutors accused him of sneaking up on two men at a stoplight and shooting them to death, after what they called a "chance encounter" at a bar. That case dates from the summer of 2012, just weeks before Hernandez signed a lucrative contract extension with the Patriots.
As WBUR reported last year, police say they uncovered evidence tying Hernandez to that double-murder in the process of investigating Lloyd's death.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Crime, Law and Justice

Sports

The New England Patriots tight end was arrested in 2013 for the killing of the boyfriend of his fiancee's sister. He faces a mandatory sentence of life without parole.

Former NFL player Aaron Hernandez found guilty of murder

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox