On August 22, 2013, Hernandez was indicted by a grand jury for the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player, in June 2013.
On April 15, 2015, he was found guilty of first-degree murder in the Lloyd case and sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
On June 17, 2013, Lloyd was shot and killed in an industrial park one mile away from Hernandez's house.
On June 16, the night before Lloyd's death, Hernandez "texted two out-of-state pals and asked them to come to Massachusetts telling them, 'You can't trust anyone anymore'" and that Lloyd texted his sister, "'Did you see who I am with?" When asked who, he wrote "NFL". His last text read: "Just so you know". His sister later admitted that she thought he was bragging, and the texts were dismissed from the case due to insufficient evidence that Lloyd feared for his life.
"Prosecutors reportedly said that Lloyd and Hernandez were in contact just 10 hours before his death, concerning a bag of marijuana. Furthermore, keys to a car that had been rented by Hernandez were allegedly found in Lloyd's pocket. Prosecutors believe Lloyd recently said something to Hernandez that destroyed his trust, giving Hernandez a motive to kill."
On May 15, 2014, Hernandez was indicted for the 2012 double homicide of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. On April 14, 2017, he was found not guilty of the double homicide but continued serving a life sentence for the murder of Lloyd.
Aaron During Happier Times
On August 27, 2012, Aaron Hernandez was a rapidly rising star in the NFL, had recently played in the Super Bowl.
He was a key part of the New England Patriots offense, the Patriots signed Hernandez to a five-year contract extension, running through 2018.
The $12.5 million signing bonus was the largest ever given to an NFL tight end, and the $40 million total was the second-largest extension ever, after teammate Rob Gronkowski's $53 million.
He had a baby girl, a beautiful fiancee and an expansive $1.5 million mansion in the Boston suburbs.
Community Leadership Feedback
With both Aaron Hernandez and the Facebook murderer, we have seen the cowardice of control. Both men wanted to control others and took lives and that same need to control played a role in their choreographed demises. Suicide, in these cases and many others, can sometimes be about realizing that things would not play out as they wanted and it's the actions and outcome of a control freak trying to have the last word on their own brand or their image. It's a dangerous and slippery slope because so many young people are turning to suicide for that same reason.
But there is and will always be hope, so I pray that we can separate the conversations of criminals who are trying to control their own end and those young people struggling with a temporary struggle that feels like the end. We've got to shine a real light on suicide and not let it be seen as the only way to control your destiny. There's always hope!
Rev.Kevin E. Taylor, Senior Pastor and Founder at Unity Fellowship Church. NewArk
In the Aaron Hernandez situation and in much of American culture, we have millionaire athletes, for another example, we had Rae Carruth, and others like them whom the systematic issues for us seem to "scream out," for attention and help- when it comes to their cases. There is also a need for extended treatment with NFL folks, and how to deal with that certain treatment. In the sports world, we have many celebrities who come from challenged backgrounds, but again, its time to take a look at the “cultural damage.” and how it effect us when we become wealthy.
Mark A. Clements, Anti-Torture Advocate, Administrator at Campaign to End the Death Penalty
As a leader- I know sometimes that we can be too busy, but we need to pay more attention to our young black men in sports out and of sports. We have never seen the high amount of unfortunate deaths of your men- the ones in prominence and in our inner cities. On the outside, it looks like those like Hernanadez, had everything but as we can purely see there was a "miss." We have to start taking GOD, LOVE, PEACE directly to them. I'm saying that love of self, and others has to be the message for today.
Bishop Don Adams, Founder-Building God’s Kingdom Network, Freedom FIrst International-VP
We all love and our stars, especially when they are starting out they bring so much innocence into the entertainment world. But as they grow older, there sometimes seems to be a transformation that happens where these sweet little ones take a walk on the wild side. Yes, Hollywood lifestyles can change a person.
In truth-There are considerable benefits to being a celebrity. There is the money, the adulation of fans, and the doors fame opens. There is also the fact that most celebrities are doing something they are very passionate about. At the same time, there are some very significant downsides for celebrities especially as they excel. Unfortunate if we don't come to grips with this mythical power, then we can lose badly
Tragically, those like Aaron Hernandez pay for the life lesson with their life!
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