The murder of Odin Lloyd has sent shockwaves around the professional football community in both the NFL and the semi-pro New England Football League, as former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been arrested and charged in the homicide with first degree murder and now will face trial after being denied bail.
Lloyd was a 27-year-old linebacker for the Boston Bandits and the team announced that it will honor him at their first game of the season in July. The organization also wrote on their website that they are cooperating with authorities in any way they can to help identify who was responsible for his death. The team will open the 2013 regular season against the Shore Generals on July 20th and that is the game where they will honor Lloyd.
The Bandits are the oldest semi-pro football team in Boston and have played in the league for 19 years while winning four NEFL titles and making the playoffs every year. The team has had the best defense six times and led the league in scoring in 2006, which came after the team finished two games shy of the national championship three years in a row from 2003 to 2005. Hernandez is accused of orchestrating the death of Lloyd and after an arraignment and bail hearing, numerous details have come out about the case, including that Lloyd was shot five times in an execution style death.
The prosecution presented a wide range of details and evidence that they will use in the case, including shell casings from a gun that matches ammunition that Hernandez had, as well as video surveillance that shows the tight end with Lloyd the night of the murder. Hernandez was charged with first degree murder as well as five other gun charges and he could be facing life in prison if convicted. He was originally denied bail in the case and his lawyers appealed and at the hearing on Thursday the judge agreed with the original decision and felt that he belonged behind bars.
Another man connected to the case was arrested on Thursday as well and authorities also started investigating another murder that may involve Hernandez. Officials said Thursday that they are investigating Hernandez's connection to a double murder in Boston last July and they seized one of his cars in connection to the case. Hernandez has an eight month old daughter with his girlfriend Shayanna Jenkins and she has been receiving quite a bit of attention from the media, including when she was tearing up in the courtroom and now she is home alone with their child.
