Ex-New England Patriot player Aaron Hernandez convicted of murder, gets life

[Michael Cox]

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Former New England Patriots star Aaron
Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to
life in prison Wednesday in a deadly late-night shooting,
sealing the downfall of an athlete who once had a $40 million
contract and a standout career ahead of him.

Hernandez, 25, looked to his right, pursed his lips and sat down
after the jury forewoman pronounced him guilty in the slaying of
Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old landscaper and amateur weekend
football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.

The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life without
parole and automatically triggers an appeal to Massachusetts'
highest court.

Hernandez's mother, Terri, and his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins,
cried and gasped when they heard the verdict, and Lloyd's mother
also cried. Jenkins wept loudly on his mother's shoulder.
Hernandez, his eyes red, mouthed to them: "Be strong. Be strong."

The former football pro was also found guilty on weapons
charges. Jurors deliberated for 36 hours over seven days before
rendering their verdict.

"The jury found that he was just a man who committed a brutal
murder," District Attorney Thomas Quinn said. "The fact that he
was a professional athlete meant nothing in the end."

For reasons that were never made clear to the jury, Lloyd was
shot six times in the middle of the night on June 17, 2013, in a
deserted industrial park near Hernandez's home in North
Attleborough.

Police almost immediately zeroed in on Hernandez because they
found in Lloyd's pocket the key to a car the NFL player had
rented. Within hours of Hernandez's arrest, the Patriots cut the
former Pro Bowl athlete, who was considered one of the top tight
ends in the game.

Prosecutors presented a wealth of evidence that Hernandez was
with Lloyd at the time he was killed, including home security
video from Hernandez's mansion, witness testimony and cellphone
records that tracked Lloyd's movements.

Hernandez's lawyer, James Sultan, acknowledged for the first
time during closing arguments that Hernandez was there when
Lloyd was killed.

But the attorney pinned the shooting on two of Hernandez's
friends, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, saying his client was
a "23-year-old kid" who witnessed a shocking crime and didn't
know what to do. Wallace and Ortiz will stand trial later.

Prosecutors have suggested Lloyd may have been killed because he
knew too much about Hernandez's alleged involvement in a deadly
2012 drive-by shooting in Boston. But they were not allowed to
tell the jury that because the judge said it was speculation.

As a result, they never offered a motive beyond saying Hernandez
appeared angry with Lloyd at a nightclub two nights before the
killing.

In the 2012 case, Hernandez is accused of gunning down two men
over a spilled drink at a nightclub.

All 12 jurors and three alternates spoke to reporters Wednesday,
saying they were shocked by the defense admission that Hernandez
was at the scene of the killing — an admission that they said
helped confirm that he was guilty.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/apr/14/aaron-hernandez-
jurors-to-continue-deliberations/