A jury found ex-New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez guilty of murder in the first degree for the 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd. What's next for Hernandez?
A jury in Fall River, Mass., needed only seven days to find Hernandez guilty of murder. The jury returned a guilty verdict Wednesday for first-degree murder and gun-related charges, and Hernandez was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without parole, the mandatory sentence in Massachusetts for Murder-1.
Hernandez will automatically be granted an appeal in the state's highest court at a date yet to be determined, according to the New York Times.
Wednesday marked the end of a trial that lasted nearly three months. The prosecution called more than 100 witnesses and took more than two months to present its case, while the defense's case - by contract - lasted only one day and included three witnesses. The Commonwealth's case was largely circumstantial, relying on evidence such as surveillance video that placed Hernandez in the vicinity of the crime when prosecutors believe it was committed, a size-13 footprint that may have matched Hernandez's shoe and both a piece of chewing gum and a shell casing found in a vehicle rented by Hernandez. No murder weapon was ever found.
The prosecution contended Hernandez's motive for killing Lloyd stemmed from an incident several days earlier when Lloyd had spoken to a group of people whom Hernandez disliked. The prosecutors' original contention - that Hernandez killed Lloyd because Lloyd knew too much about his involvement in a 2012 drive-by shooting - wasn't allowed by the judge, who said it was speculative.
Hernandez's attorneys admitted Hernandez witnessed the murder of Lloyd but insisted he did not pull the trigger, suggesting one of his charged accomplices - Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz - committed the homicide.
Hernandez was immediately handcuffed after the verdict was read. He will spend the remainder of his life at MCI Cedar Junction, according to Fox News, pending his appeal. The 25-year-old also faces murder charges in the 2012 drive-by double homicide.
