The Situation is getting worse and worse by the hour for Aaron Hernandez.
North Attleboro, Massachusetts police are questioning New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in connection with the death of a 27-year-old man. They may also seek permission (or a warrant) to search Hernandez’s home. However Hernandez is not considered to be an official suspect in the investigation.
Sports Illustrated are reporting that the body of the 27 year old man was found dead by a jogger on Monday in a North Attleboro clearing, less than a mile from Hernandez’s home. A rental car, a 2013 Chevy Suburbun, that had been registered to Hernandez was also found at the scene.
ABCnews is indicating that the deceased is an associate of Hernandez, and that the home has already been searched. They also state that Hernandez has been uncooperative with police.
Hernandez, his agents and his lawyer have all declined to comment publicly on the case.
Stacey James, a New England Patriots official, said on behalf of the team, “I am aware of the reports, but I do not anticipate that we will be commenting publicly during an ongoing police investigation.”
Hernandez was a 4th round pick in the 2010 NFL draft. He was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2011 season. Last season Hernandez caught 51 passes and scored five touchdowns for the Patriots in just 10 games. He was sidelined for several weeks after suffering a high ankle sprain.
Edit: Update 9:30pm. Multiple sources are now reporting that the police have obtained a search warrant and are searching Hernandez’s home.
Legal Analysis*: This is bad for Hernandez. The police may be seeing that he is not a suspect, however a judge has given a search warrant for the home. There must be some reason to believe that there is evidence in the home that will lead the police to the killer. In my opinion this likely means that either Hernandez, or someone living in the home must be a viable suspect, as typically speaking the courts do not hand out search warrants on private homes easily.
Edit: Update 11:46 AM, June 19th: WBZ-TV of Boston is reporting that the victim is Odin Lloyd, 27, of Dorcester. Odin played semi-pro football with the Boston Bandits.
WBZ-TV is also reporting that police have NOT ruled out Hernandez as a suspect.
Edit: Update 1:30 PM, June 19th: The Boston Globe is reporting that police are investigating if the death is drug related.
It should be noted that Hernandez slid to the fourth round of the NFL draft after multiple failed drug tests at the University of Florida.
Edit: Update 3:00pm, June 19th: ProFootballTalk is reporting that Hernandez was sued recently for shooting a man in the face. It is believed the lawsuit settled out of court, as it was withdrawn only 4 days after it was filed.
4:00pm June 19th: ProFootballTalkis now saying that the suit is being re-filed in Florida and a paperwork error was why it was withdrawn.
11:00pm June 19th: Fox Boston is reporting
“A law enforcement official tells FOX 25 Hernandez appears to be directly tied to the homicide which is why authorities executed a search warrant at his home Tuesday night. According to the same source, Hernandez, Lloyd, and two other men were at a bar in Boston the night of the homicide, and at some point, the four men left together in a car driven by Hernandez which was confirmed by a text Lloyd sent another friend, the source says.
It is unclear where the car went or what happened during the ride, but according to the source only three men returned to Hernandez’s home at the end of the night and Lloyd was not one of them.
The source also says forensic evidence places a vehicle driven by Hernandez at one of the crime scenes in this case.”
Things just keep going from bad to worse for Hernandez… which brings us to today.
June 20th: 12:30 pm Steve Silva Boston.com Sports Reporter tweets
“Hearing via law enforcement source that Aaron Hernandez will be arrested in connection with the North Attleborough murder”
Some of you may remember Silva as the reporter who was video taping the finish of the Boston Marathon and whose video helped police catch the suspects.
Silva later updated with:
“Sources on pending Hernandez arrest not directly connected to murder investigation”
So apparently Hernandez is being arrested for something else… not the murder at this time.
Update 2:20pm ABC NEWS report:
Police plan to go back to the home of New England Patriot’s tight end Aaron Hernandez today with another warrant based on evidence that “he destroyed his home security system,” an investigator close to the case told ABC News. The investigator, and other law enforcement sources, confirmed that the security system – which included video surveillance – was smashed intentionally.
And a cell phone used by Hernandez was handed over to investigators “in pieces” by his attorneys, the sources said.
Police also want to know why a team of house cleaners were hired on Monday to scrub Hernandez’s mansion, sources told ABC News.
Analysis*: He’s up the river without a paddle.
June 20; 6:15 PM: Fox Boston Report
Neighbors say they heard the gunshots between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. Monday morning, but did not report it to police right away.
Just about an hour before Hernandez was caught on video walking into his home, Hernandez was seen at Lloyd’s home in Dorchester.
Analysis*: Just a matter of time until he is arrested, the only question seems to be if he’ll be charged with Murder, Manslaughter, Accessory, and/or Obstruction of Justice.
You can follow @RoryHarbaugh on twitter for all your NFL needs, and the follow the site @lastwordonsport while you are at it
Interested in writing for LastWordOnSports? If so, check out our “Join Our Team” page to find out how.
Football fans…check out Thursday Night Tailgate Radio as hosts Chris Mascaro and Angelo Cane chat with current and former NFL and College players. NFL stars open up on TNT because they’re regular guys, without network influence. Access the show in the sidebar on our home page or by visiting their website at ThursdayNightTailgate.com. Learn more about the show including their upcoming schedule at their page at LWOS.
photo credit: Jeffrey Beall via photopin cc
*Legal analysis is not advice…. If you find yourself in a similar situation, contact a lawyer immediately.
