Footprint, DNA links ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez to murder, gov't says; defense cites lack of motive
A footprint at a murder scene and DNA testing on a marijuana joint found there link former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez to the slaying of a semi-professional football player, a Massachusetts prosecutor said Thursday in opening trial statements.
A lawyer for Hernandez told the jury his client is innocent and said a “sloppy and unprofessional” police investigation failed to identify the correct suspects in the Bristol County first-degree murder case, the Boston Globe (sub. req.) reports.
The murder weapon has not been found, and prosecutor Patrick Bomberg did not accuse Hernandez of pulling the trigger. However, he contended that the 25-year-old defendant conspired to kill Lloyd and was present, along with two associates, when Odin Lloyd was picked up June 17, 2013, driven to the industrial park where his body was found, and shot to death, according to the newspaper. Soon after Lloyd left with the group, supposedly for a wee-hours trip to a Boston nightclub, surveillance footage at Hernandez’s home on the outskirts of Providence, Rhode Island, showed only Hernandez and the two associates exiting their vehicle, according to Bomberg.
The 27-year-old Lloyd dated a sister of Hernandez’s fiancée, CNN notes. Hernandez, who had a $40 million contract with the Patriots at the time, was cut within hours of being charged with Lloyd’s murder.
Attorney Michael Fee, who represents Hernandez, said police didn’t look for any other suspects once they found out Lloyd knew Hernandez and emphasized to the jury his client’s stellar NFL prospects at the time of the crime, the New York Daily News reports.
“There was no reason, there was no motive,” Fee told the jury. “Aaron Hernandez was planning a future, not a murder.”
Two other defendants in the Bristol County murder case, who have also pleaded not guilty, will be tried separately.
Hernandez faces another unrelated first-degree murder case in Massachusetts over fatal drive-by shootings after an 2012 incident at a Boston bar, as well as multiple civil suits. He has pleaded not guilty, and jurors in the current trial will not be told of the additional murder charges.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “New England Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez charged with murder and axed from team”
ABAJournal.com: “Judge excludes evidence in Aaron Hernandez murder case over inadequate affidavit”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Former football star Aaron Hernandez killed 2 strangers over a spilled drink, prosecutor says”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer doesn’t have to turn over Aaron Hernandez cellphone in murder case, top state court says”
