Once among the most promising young players in the NFL, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder in the killing of a man who was dating his fiancee’s sister.
The jury also convicted Hernandez, 25, of two illegal firearms crimes, one for possession of the .45 caliber Glock pistol used to kill Odin Lloyd in June 2013.
The guilty verdict quashes any hopes the Bristol, Conn. native may have had of returning to the football field. He will return immediately to the Massachusetts jail, where he also is being held pending trial on double murder charges in a 2012 drive-by shooting in Boston. Hernandez played an entire season for the Patriots after the double homicide, and signed on to play five more. The 2012 shooting was a cold case until evidence recovered after Lloyd’s death helped authorities identify Hernandez as a suspect.
