Former NFL player Aaron Hernandez convicted of murder, gets life sentence

FALL RIVER, Massachusetts – Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for first-degree murder in a deadly shooting in the middle of the night, sealing the downfall of an athlete who once commanded a $40 million contract and a stellar career.

Hernandez, 25, looked to his right, pursed his lips and sat down after the jury foreman found him guilty of murdering Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old landscaper and amateur weekend football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée. The conviction carried a sentence of life in prison without parole and automatically triggered an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Court.

Hernandez's mother, Terri, and his fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins, cried and gasped as they heard the verdict, and Lloyd's mother cried too. Jenkins cried loudly on his mother's shoulder. Hernandez, his eyes red, mouthed a word: “Be strong. Be strong.”

The former professional football player from Bristol, Connecticut, was also found guilty of both weapons charges. The jury deliberated for 36 hours over seven days before reaching its verdict.

For reasons never made clear to the jury, Lloyd was shot six times in the middle of the night on June 17, 2013, in an abandoned industrial area near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough.

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

Prosecutors presented ample evidence that Hernandez was with Lloyd at the time of his murder, including surveillance video from Hernandez's mansion, witness testimony and cell phone records documenting Lloyd's movements.

During his closing argument, Hernandez's attorney James Sultan admitted for the first time that Hernandez was present at Lloyd's murder.

However, the lawyer blamed two of Hernandez's friends, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, for the shooting. His client was a “23-year-old boy” who witnessed a shocking crime and didn't know what to do. Wallace and Ortiz will be tried later.

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

As a result, they did not give a motive other than that Hernandez appeared angry at Lloyd at a nightclub two nights before the murder.

Hernandez faces other legal problems as he awaits trial on murder charges related to the drive-by shooting. He is accused of gunning down two men in a nightclub over a spilled drink.

In the Lloyd case, the defense argued that investigators fixated on Hernandez because of his fame and conducted sloppy investigations in their eagerness to confirm their suspicions.

Prosecutors said Hernandez organized the killing, called his two friends for help and drove Lloyd and the others to the remote location in the industrial park. In their closing argument, prosecutors also accused Hernandez of pulling the trigger, although the law does not require proving who fired the shots to convict him.

Surveillance video from Hernandez's home showed him holding what appeared to be a gun less than 10 minutes after Lloyd was killed. The surveillance system also recorded Hernandez, Wallace and Ortiz relaxing at his home hours after Lloyd was shot, hanging out in the basement “man cave,” lounging by the pool and cuddling Hernandez's young daughter.

Hernandez was an All-American at the University of Florida who was drafted in the fourth round by the Patriots in 2010.