Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder in the Odin Lloyd case Wednesday. He will serve a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. The 25-year-old former pro football star was also found guilty on weapons charges. The jury deliberated for thirty-six hours over the course of a week before rendering its verdict. Prosecutors insinuated that 27-year-old Lloyd may have been killed because he knew too much about Hernandez’s alleged involvement in a fatal 2012 drive-by shooting in Boston. But they were not allowed to say any of that to the jury because the judge said it was nothing but speculation. As a result, they never offered a plausible motive beyond saying Hernandez appeared angry with Lloyd at a night spot two nights prior to the killing. Prosecutors argued that Hernandez organized the whole thing, convinced two of his friends to help carry it out and transported Lloyd and the others involved to the secluded spot in the industrial park. During closing arguments, prosecutors also accused Hernandez of pulling the trigger, though under law it is not necessary to substantiate who fired the shots to convict him. Hernandez also faces further legal trouble: He is accused of gunning down two men over a spilled drink at a nightclub the night of the drive-by shooting. Hernandez, a native of Bristol, Connecticut, was an All-American out of the University of Florida who was drafted by the Patriots in his senior year in 2010.
