FORMER NEW ENGLAND Patriots star Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder yesterday… at his arraignment in a Massachusetts court.
Hernandez was indicted last month on the murder charge and five gun-related charges in the death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player whose bloodied body was found in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, less than a mile from Hernandez’s luxury home.
Hernandez pleaded not guilty to all six charges in Friday’s appearance in Bristol County Superior court in Fall River, Massachusetts.
He is next scheduled to appear in court on 9 October, and prosecutors and defence attorneys agreed that he will continue to be held without bail until then.
Hernandez has been in jail since his arrest on June 26. He had already pleaded not guilty to murder in Attleboro District Court, but the case has been transferred following the grand jury indictment on 22 August.
Prosecutors say Hernandez and two other men, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, carried out the “execution-style” killing because Hernandez was angry that Lloyd had spoken with people he “had troubles with”.
A jogger found Lloyd’s body on 17 June.
Wallace has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact, while Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to illegally carrying a firearm.
Defence lawyers say the case against the 23-year-old Hernandez, who was cut by the Patriots shortly after his arrest, is circumstantial.
