Ex-Patriots Aaron Hernandez (Photo : sports.yahoo.com)
Aaron Hernandez, former National Football League (NFL) New England Patriots star, was put on trial on murder charges. Hernandez, together with his defense attorney Charles Rankin, was at the Bristol Superior Court on Jan. 29, South Coast Today reported.
The 25-year-old former Patriots star was put on trial and accused of the murder of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player who was dating Hernandez' fiancé's sister at the time. Lloyd's lifeless body was found at an industrial park near North Attleboro where Hernandez resides.
Hernandez' legal advisors defended him stating that the ex-football star had the world at his feet and that there is no justifiable reason for him to commit the crime. Defense attorney Rankin stated over and over again that the athlete is innocent and that the authorities have locked in on him as a suspect even before the trial started. Evidences were ignored and that the investigation was rendered sloppy and unprofessional, according to Yahoo! Sports.
The ex-Patriot star player had a $40 million contract which got cut by the Patriots few hours before his arrest in 2013. Hernandez could face lifetime imprisonment if found guilty.
On a different case that is yet to get into trial, Hernandez was involved in a murder of two men in Boston in 2012 when someone allegedly spilled a drink on him in a night club.
Prosecutors have had speculations that the primary reason for Lloyds's murder is that he may have known too much about the previous crime. The allegations were ruled out by the judge as the prosecutors should not disclose such case to the jury.
During the trial, District Attorney Patrick Bomberg showed the jury a video that connected Hernandez to Lloyd's murder.
