Memorable Moments in Aaron Hernandez's Murder Trial

From disputes over trophies to watching the Super Bowl, here are top moments in the Hernandez trial

Former New England Patriots football star Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday in the killing a semi-professional football player found shot multiple times near Hernandez’s home.

Hernandez and the victim, Odin Lloyd, had been out at a nightclub two days earlier and later got into a fight, prosecutors say.

The trial in Fall River, Massachusetts began in January; jurors deliberated for seven days before reaching their verdict. They also convicted him of weapons charges.

Here are some highlights from the court proceedings:

Prosecution rests

Government lawyers completed their case against Hernandez on April 2. Over two months, they called more than 100 witnesses. The defense team said it would begin calling its witnesses after the weekend break.

New England Patriots' owner takes the stand

The owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft, testified on March 31 that his former star tight end had told him he was innocent of Lloyd’s killing.

"He said he was not involved,” Kraft said. “That he was innocent and that he hoped that the time of the murder incident came out because he said he was in a club.”

The Patriots’ director of security, Mark Briggs, followed Kraft to the stand and said that shortly before Hernandez’s arrest on June 26, he asked the football player to leave the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium because his presence was bad for business.

Hernandez's fiancee recounts his infidelity

Hernandez’s fiancee, 25-year-old Shayanna Jenkins, with whom he has a 2-year-old daughter, testified on March 30 that she had gotten rid of a box in their basement the day after Lloyd was killed. Hernandez had asked her to remove it, and she found a dumpster to throw it in, she said. Prosecutors believe the box could have contained the gun used to kill Lloyd, which has never been found.

Lloyd was dating Jenkins' sister.

Jenkins, who began dating Hernandez in middle school and who was compelled to testify after being given immunity, said tearfully that she had returned to him although he had been unfaithful to her.

Earlier she had said that he was drunk in the hours before Lloyd was killed.

At one point she asked Hernandez if he had killed Lloyd, she said. He told her he had not, she said.

Confrontation over courtroom kiss

Lloyd's family confronted a security officer after Hernandez's mother was allowed to touch and kiss her son's hand in the courtroom on March 17 while the judge and the jury were not present. Lloyd's family told the officer on March 18 they no longer have a son to kiss.

Nike shoes like those at the crime scene

A Nike expert took the stand on March 17 and was shown surveillance video of Hernandez at a gas station less than 90 minutes before the killing and at his home less than 10 minutes after. Herbert Hedges, who worked for Nike for more than 30 years, said Hernandez was wearing Nike Air Jordan 11 Lows. Prosecutors have said a footprint at the scene matches that kind of shoe. Hernandez's lawyers hit back, pointing out that Nike had made millions of shoes with the same sole pattern.

A gun in his hand?

In a home surveillance video played for jurors on March 9, Hernandez can be seen walking across his living room hours before the murder holding what prosecutors say is a gun and the defense suggests is a remote control or some similar device. The video shows Hernandez getting into the front passenger seat of a rented Nissan Altima with two friends also charged in the early-morning murder.

On March 10, Kyle Aspinwall, a former New Hampshire police chief who now works for Glock, testified Hernandez was holding a Glock on the surveillance video.

The judge struck some of Aspinwall's testimony on March 12, after questioning Aspinwall outside the jury's hearing about how he formed his opinion. She told jurors Aspinwall's testimony is his opinion, and they are free to accept or reject it.

Testimony from the nanny

Twenty-eight-year-old Jennifer Fortier, who babysat for Hernandez’s infant daughter that night, testified that two days before the killing she and a friend ran into Hernandez and Lloyd in Boston. They went to an apartment he kept not far from Gillette Stadium, where he kissed her. She kissed him back but then told him: "No, I’m your nanny. I can’t do this," she said. He said he understood and she and her friend left, according to Fortier.

DNA on a marijuana blunt

A crime lab expert testified on March 6 that a marijuana blunt found near Lloyd’s body had DNA from both Lloyd and Hernandez. The cigar places Hernandez at the crime scene, prosecutors argue.
 

Fingerprint analysis: Lloyd's fingerprints in Hernandez's car

A Massachusetts state police trooper who specializes in fingerprint analysis testified on March 3 that Hernandez’s and Lloyd’s fingerprints were found inside a car allegedly used to drive Lloyd to his death.

The trooper testified that Lloyd’s fingerprints were found on the handle of the rear passenger side door of a Nissan Altima that Hernandez had rented.

Lloyd’s sister had earlier testified that she saw Lloyd get into a silver Nissan but could not see the driver.

The defense challenged the trooper’s credentials.

Dancing at the gas station

About an hour before Lloyd was killed Hernandez can be seen on a surveillance video dancing near a fuel pump as he puts gas in his rental car. The video, which was played at the trial Feb. 26, also shows another man in the car with a white towel over his shoulders. A white towel was found near Lloyd’s body, according to the prosecution.

Earlier Hernandez was drinking with a group at a bar in Rhode Island and smoking marijuana outside with one of his friends, a bar manager testified. He paid the $243 bill, which included $99 for Hennessy and $72.50 for the cocktail Sex on the Beach.

Here's a copy of the tab.

A blue bubble gum clue? 

A piece of blue bubble gum became the subject of contention Feb. 18, as Hernandez's attorneys grilled a detective on how the evidence was handled.

North Attleborough police Detective Michael Elliott said a shell casing attached to blue bubble gum was discovered in a trash bin after a rental car company worker told authorities several items had been removed from a car Hernandez rented and thrown out, according to The Associated Press. On Wednesday, the defense questioned why the gum was removed from the shell casing, potentially jeopardizing the evidence.

Prosecutors have said Hernandez bought blue bubble gum shortly before the killing.

Two jurors removed

Judge Garsh dismissed one of the jurors on Feb. 11, citing personal reasons that had nothing to do with the case.

This was the second juror to be removed from the case. On Feb. 3, Garsh said there was evidence that one juror had discussed her opinion about the case and, in particular, had said that it would be hard to convict Hernandez without the murder weapon, which has never been found. The woman also attended more Patriot games than she disclosed, talked about evidence that the judge had ruled inadmissible and over the last few years had expressed an interest in serving on the jury, the judge said.

Immunity for Hernandez’s fiancee

Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, has been granted immunity, meaning she could be compelled to testify against Hernandez, according to court documents released on Feb. 10. She earlier pleaded not guilty to perjury after prosecutors charged she lied dozens to times to the grand jury investigating Lloyd’s killing. Among the alleged lies: saying she could not remember where she had disposed of a box Hernandez purportedly told her to get rid of.

Trophies on display, and memories of O.J.

Defense lawyers and prosecutors have been sparring over Hernandez’s football trophies from the start.

The defense won the first round when Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan ruled that the jurors would be allowed to see the trophy case when they toured the house on Feb. 6. Hernandez’s lawyer James Sultan had argued that the house should be shown as it was at the time of Lloyd’s death in 2013.

Eyad Jarjour (L) consoles his neighbor (R) as she views her burned home after flames from the Saddleridge Fire tore through Granada Hills, California, on October 11, 2019. – The fire broke out late October 10 and has scorched some 4,600 acres (1,816 hectares), and forced mandatory evacuation orders for 12,700 homes. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP) (Photo by...

But the day before the tour, prosecutor Patrick Bomberg prevailed when he told the judge that religious items and memorabilia from Hernandez’s football career had been added to several rooms. He drew a comparison to the O.J. Simpson murder trial when photographs and a Bible were placed in the retired football player’s house. Simpson was later acquitted on charges of killing his former wife and a waiter. Judge Garsh said anything new would have to be covered or removed.

A mother’s tears

Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward, twice left the courtroom in tears before testifying on Feb. 4, when the judge asked her not to cry as she was shown photographs of her son.

“I understand this is very emotional for you,” Garsh told her.

Ward remained stoic when she viewed an autopsy photo of her son’s face and another of her son wearing the same clothes he was dressed in when his body was found.

To watch the Super Bowl or not

As Hernandez’s former team prepared for the match-up against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL’s championship game, Judge Garsh told the jurors they could watch the game but only if they left the room if Hernandez’s name came up.

“You hear that word, you’ve got to walk out of the room,” Garsh told them on Jan. 30. “Distance yourself.”

During the 2012 Super Bowl, Hernandez caught a touchdown pass from the Patriot’s quarterback, Tom Brady — though the team lost the New York Giants. This year, the Patriots beat the Seahawks 28 - 24 in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 1.

Click here to view a larger version of the map.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us