Even after the jury returned a guilty verdict and the judge sentenced him to life in prison for the murder of Odin Lloyd in the first degree, former NFLer and New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez continues to maintain his innocence.
"When he left the court after his sentence he still had his - according to my staff - his swagger - but it's not surprising with him," Bristol County Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson said, per Owen Boss of The Boston Herald. "He told our people, 'Look, they're wrong and I'll miss you guys,' but (he) sort of still had his swagger in his step."
Hernandez was found guilty on Wednesday of murdering Lloyd, who was gunned down on June 17, 2013 in a North Attleboro, Mass., industrial park near Hernandez's home.
In the wake of the verdict, the former Patriots tight end's new home will now be a cell at MCI-Cedar Junction.
Despite the verdict and sentencing, Hodgson thinks Hernandez actually believes he was not a part of or responsible for Lloyd's death.
"I don't think he'll ever admit to himself or anyone else that he was involved in (the Lloyd murder) or maybe he was responsible for it and that's part of his defense mechanism," Hodgson said. "He will compartmentalize - he saw himself at training camp and not at prison - and that's his survival mechanism and that's how he does it and he's very good at it."
Hodgson said that he's dealt with thousands of inmates in his career and that he believes Hernandez seems to suffer from "sociopathic issues," possibly stemming from the death of his father.
"Over the course of time I've had a lot of opportunities to speak with him and one of the things that I learned was that he is the best I've ever seen at manipulation," Hodgson said. "He is a master at using his charm to position himself and get what he needs. I've never seen anybody better at it."
Hodgson said that Hernandez seems to have a "hot button" associated with being disrespected, which may have led to Lloyd's death.
"When you disrespect Aaron Hernandez you disrespect the memory of his father and that would send him to a point where he would become enraged because he has the anger around the loss of his own father," Hodgson said.
