Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of murder and suicide. Readers’ discretion is advised.
In June 2013, the police apprehended Aaron Hernandez for the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional American football player. Several reports indicated that the gruesome crime happened in the early hours of June 17, 2013. Without wasting any time, the authorities started the investigation and questioned Hernandez.
The police issued a search warrant for Hernandez’s North Attleborough home and on June 18, they started searching the athlete’s house. As per ABC News, the authorities investigated Hernandez’s home after they discovered a body just one mile away from it. Four days later, they searched his house again, but apparently for a different reason. After eight days of the initial search, the police arrested Aaron Hernandez for the murder of Odin Lloyd.
Hernandez pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. However, in January 2015, the former NFL tight end went on trial in the aforementioned case. Without any guesses, the case turned out to be a worldwide phenomenon and Hernandez’s fans eagerly wanted to know if he committed the murder or not.
The trial went on for four months and in April 2015, the prosecutors and the defense lawyers began their closing arguments. Subsequently, the jury started their deliberations on April 7, 2015, and after eight days, the jury found Aaron Hernandez guilty of first-degree murder.
The accused served his life sentence at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. However, in 2017, the former NFL player died in his prison cell after he hanged himself on April 19. He was 27.
Why did Aaron Hernandez kill Odin Lloyd?
The reason for Odin Lloyd’s murder remained a mystery to both the government and the public for several months. However, according to reports in Newsweek and the Daily Mail, Aaron Hernandez allegedly killed the semi-professional football player so that no one would get to know about him being a homosexual.
In 2017, a Daily Mail report indicated that the investigators were examining if Lloyd “taunted” Hernandez before the murder. The report also mentioned that Lloyd might have known about the athlete’s complicated sexual life. Additionally, Lloyd, who was dating Hernandez’s sister, knew that the former NFL player had an alleged affair with a male friend.
A report in Newsweek also mentioned the same fact and wrote, “He was convicted in April 2015 for shooting and killing his friend, Odin Lloyd, seemingly without motive. But interviews with multiple law enforcement officials directly involved in the case say Lloyd—a semipro football player who was dating Hernandez’s fiance’s sister at the time—had information the football star did not want out: that he was bisexual.”
However, there is no proof that Hernandez murdered Lloyd because he knew he was bisexual. On the other hand, the messages exchanged between them don’t show if they had any beef against each other.
Hernandez received life imprisonment for the murder of Odin Lloyd
The Bristol County Assistant District Attorney detailed how Odin Lloyd died. Citing his statement, ABC News reported that the victim tried protecting himself from the bullets by putting up his arm during the shooting. The attorney also stated that Lloyd was reportedly shot once in the front and twice in the back. Additionally, the same report claimed that Aaron Hernandez had two accomplices—Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace—who shot Lloyd twice.
The prosecution team presented a lot of evidence against Aaron Hernandez during the trial. As a result, the jury found him guilty of the murder of Lloyd and sentenced him to life in prison. On the other hand, his accomplices also went to prison on charges of accessory to murder.
