The Aaron Hernandez case has an important date this week on Thursday, as the probable cause hearing that was delayed in July is now picking up on August 22 and the accused tight end will be in court again to face charges in the murder of Odin Lloyd and a trial date could be coming soon as well.
According to ESPN.com, the date was moved to August 22 to give lawyers for the prosecution more time to go through warrants and other details in the case as well as other evidence that was to be presented for the grand jury. The lawyers for Hernandez argued against the delay but obviously lost, as the judge Daniel O'Shea decided to reschedule the date of the hearing to August to give both sides more time. There was a high amount of new details released in the weeks between, including various search warrants that were executed, such as one on a storage unit that was in the name of Hernandez's fiancé Shayanna Jenkins.
Hernandez is being held in jail in solitary confinement for the murder of 27-year-old semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd and he is charged with first degree murder in the crime. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty and he has expressed his innocence in the case in multiple jail house letters that he has sent to fans in response to his letters. Hernandez's attorney James Sultan argued against the delay originally, saying it was the state's fault it needed more time after arresting and charging Hernandez too early without enough evidence, calling the case circumstantial.
Hernandez was arrested soon after the body of Lloyd was found near his home in North Attleboro in an industrial park and when police first tried to question him, he appeared agitated and did not cooperate. Eventually he spoke to police before being arrested, as did Jenkins before Hernandez told her to stop. Hernandez was arrested and charged with first degree murder in the crime and now two of his accomplices have also been arrested in Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace and police also searched a storage unit in Jenkins' name to see if the murder weapons were hidden there.
Police have yet to find the murder weapon, believed to be a .45 and the authorities have taken into evidenced bullets from Hernandez that matched that caliber of weapon. Hernandez has been tied to the murder through shell casings, text messages and video surveillance and photos, one of which shows him with a gun soon after the shooting occurred. Ortiz says that Wallace told him that Hernandez admitted to the crime and he also said that the guns were stashed in the basement after the shooting. Police said video showed Jenkins taking a bag out of the house and placing it in her trunk before returning without the bag later on the day after the murder. Hernandez was released soon after being arrested by the Patriots and now his NFL career is likely over with him facing life in prison for the charges.