Aaron Hernandez Arrested For Murder, Cut By Patriots

Pro Bowl tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested by police inside his luxury North Attleborough home this afternoon for the murder of Odin Lloyd, his fiancee’s sister’s boyfriend. Within just a few short hours, he was also officially cut by the New England Patriots and denied bail by the judge overseeing his case.

According to CBS News, prosecutors laid out the basic parameters of their case to the court today, and upon first glance, it seem damning. Apparently, Hernandez and Lloyd went to a nightclub together on June 14, and during the outing, the former reportedly spotted the latter talking to some men he didn’t like. A few days later, Hernandez allegedly ranted to someone inside his house that he couldn’t trust anyone anymore and left with a gun a short time later. At around 2:30 in the morning on June 17, Hernandez and two friends picked up Lloyd in a rented vehicle and confronted him about his supposed betrayal of trust. Mid-argument, Lloyd allegedly texted his girlfriend and told her he was with “NFL”. Minutes after that text was time stamped, workers at an industrial park heard gunshots. Odin’s body was later discovered riddled with bullet holes in that same park. Almost as troubling, authorities also allegedly found shell casings inside the rental car Hernandez was using that night and have proof the now former NFL star destroyed both his home surveillance system and his cell phone in the hours after the murder.

In addition to First Degree Murder, Hernandez was also hit with five separate gun charges today related to firearms that weren’t registered. His attorney, Michael Fee, while asking for bail, argued the prosecution’s case was reliant on nothing more than circumstantial evidence, but even so, bail was denied for the time being, though it could be instituted at a later date. As for Hernandez’s official relationship with the Patriots, normally a team fine with shouldering a media circus, the tight end was booted from the squad less than two hours after news of his arrest broke. Here’s a copy of the official statement from the team…

Hernandez wasn’t exactly an OJ Simpson caliber player, but during his three years in the NFL, he put up extremely impressive numbers, totaling 175 receptions, 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns. He even made a Pro Bowl and was commonly referred to as one of the better tight ends in the league by the talking heads who cover the sport. At this point in time, however, it seems like a longshot he’ll ever lace up the cleats again. Not only would he need to beat this murder charge, he would also need to get off on the weapons charges and get a pass from the commissioner, which might be difficult considering he seems to have at least intentionally destroyed his cell phone and security system during a murder investigation.