New England Patriots Aaron Hernandez Charged with Murder

26 Jun, 2013

New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested and charged Wednesday with murdering a friend a few days after they got into a dispute at a nightclub.

Hernandez was taken from his home in handcuffs Wednesday morning, more than a week after Boston semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd’s bullet-riddled body was found in an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez’s home. Soon after his arrest, the Patriots announced they had cut Hernandez from the team.

Lloyd was a 27-year-old semi-pro football player for the Boston Bandits. His relatives said he was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee, that the two men were friends and that the men were out together on the last night of Lloyd’s life. He was shot multiple times in the back and chest, authorities said.

Hernandez was charged with murder and weapons counts.

In court, prosecutors described a killing borne out of a dispute at a Boston nightclub on the night of June 14, but they didn’t say exactly what supposedly did to anger Hernandez.

The judge ordered Hernandez held without bail pending further proceedings.

Hernandez was wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, with his arms inside the shirt and behind his back as he was led from his North Attleborough before 9 a.m. Wednesday. He casually spit into some bushes on his way to a police cruiser.

At about 10:20 a.m., the Patriots announced they had released Hernandez and expressed sympathy to Lloyd’s family and friends.

“Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation,” the Patriots said in a statement. “We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do.”

The Patriots drafted Hernandez, who is originally from Bristol, Conn., out of the University of Florida in 2010. Last summer, the team gave him a five-year contract worth $40 million.

AP

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