Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd.
After more than 35 hours of deliberation, the jury found that Hernandez acted “with extreme atrocity or cruelty.”
Pending an appeal, Hernandez faces a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole.
via Boston Globe:
Hernandez, 25, and two accomplices picked up Lloyd, 27, a landscaper who played semiprofessional football, at his home on the pretext that they would party together. Instead they drove through the darkness to an industrial park in North Attleborough near the football player’s spacious home, where Hernandez shot Lloyd several times with a .45-caliber Glock pistol, including two kill shots to Lloyd’s chest as he writhed in pain on the ground.
While they never pinpointed his motive, prosecutors portrayed Hernandez as a young man who, despite his good looks, sizable fortune, and apparently bright future, was secretive, thin-skinned, and easily provoked by perceived slights.
For more on the Aaron Hernandez trial, click here.
