Sports
Aaron Hernandez Guilty of Murder
(CNN) – Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez looked on impassively Wednesday as he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, a new low for a young man who once enjoyed a $40-million pro-football contract and now stands convicted in the 2013 murder of onetime friend Odin Lloyd.
Hernandez, 25, appeared to nod “no” earlier as jurors in the Massachusetts trial found him guilty of first-degree murder. He was also found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
At trial, the defense team described Lloyd, a former semi-pro football player, as Hernandez’s “bluntmaster” — his purveyor of marijuana — and his future brother-in-law. But, in victim impact statements, Lloyd’s relatives portrayed him as a loving son and protective brother, as a man who rode his bike 10 miles to work and wore the same flip-flops for 12 years.
“Odin was my only son,” his mother, Ursula Ward, told the court, without looking at Hernandez. “Odin was the man of the house. Odin was his sisters’ keeper. After my daughter Olivia had her daughter, Odin became her keeper, too.”
