This article mentions instances of murder and suicide.
The rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez and the murder of Odin Lloyd are depicted in American Sports Story. American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez re-examines one of the most chilling off-the-field true stories in the history of the National Football League. American Sports Story will become the first dramatized series to tackle the true-crime story of Aaron Hernandez and the murder of Odin Lloyd after Netflix’s docuseries Killer Inside. Created by Stuart Zicherman (The Americans) and executive produced by Ryan Murphy, American Sports Story will span 10 episodes. Josh Andrés Rivera leads the cast of American Sports Story as Aaron Hernandez.
Hernandez grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, where he rapidly emerged as an athletic star. He would go on to play football at the University of Florida, where he would help the Gators win a BCS National Championship alongside Tim Tebow and head coach Urban Meyer. Hernandez was drafted by the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft and played there for three seasons. Hernandez played in Super Bowl XLVI against the New York Giants alongside NFL legends Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski before being released from the Patriots in 2013 after getting arrested and convicted of first-degree murder.
The first two episodes of
American Sports Story
premiere on Hulu and FX on September 17, 2024.
Aaron Hernandez Murdered Odin Lloyd On June 17, 2013
Based on the first-degree murder conviction Hernandez received in 2015, the jury concluded that Hernandez murdered Odin Lloyd on June 17, 2013, just two months before the Patriots offered him a five-year $40 million contract. Lloyd was the boyfriend of Shaneah Jenkins, the sister of Shayanna Jenkins, Aaron Hernandez’s girlfriend and the mother of his child. Lloyd’s body was found in an isolated industrial area in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, not far from a wealthy community where Hernandez had lived in a mansion. Lloyd had been murdered execution-style and shot a total of six times.
The motive behind the crime was undetermined during the murder trial and remains unclear to this day. There is speculation that Hernandez killed Lloyd after Lloyd discovered that Hernandez was gay. Hernandez never publicly commented on his sexuality but several people who were close to him, including a male childhood friend and former teammate, claim to have had sexual relations with Hernandez. Two friends of Hernandez, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, were with Hernandez and witnessed the murder. They were charged for being accessories to Lloyd’s murder and were sentenced to 4.5–7 years in prison.
Aaron Hernandez Was Arrested For First-Degree Murder Charges On June 23, 2013
It did not take long for Hernandez to be accused and arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd, considering the substantial amount of circumstantial evidence that pointed to his direct involvement and ultimate guilt. Firstly, Hernandez was the only person who knew Lloyd in the area, which is a very well-to-do community where murders and other serious crimes rarely ever happen. The 23-year-old Hernadez pleaded not guilty to the murder charges but was not released on bail since the evidence against him was so strong. He was also implicated in a double homicide that took place in the Theater District in Boston, although he was ultimately found not guilty on both counts in a 2017 trial.
The Odin Lloyd Murder Trial Started On January 29, 2015
Hernandez was held at the Bristol County Jail in North Dartmouth, MA while awaiting trial, which began on January 29, 2015, in Fall River, MA. Prosecutors built a strong case against Hernandez starting with the fact that his DNA was found at the scene of Odin Lloyd’s murder. They also presented evidence of bullet shell casings that were found at the scene of the crime that matched those found in Hernandez’s rental car he drove on the night of Lloyd’s murder. Hernandez’s defense attorney surprisingly admitted that his defendant had been at the scene of the crime and claimed that Aaron was a helpless witness to Lloyd’s murder, pinning the crime on Ortiz and Wallace.
Aaron Hernandez Was Convicted & Sentenced To Life In Prison On April 15, 2015
Hernandez was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the murder of Odin Lloyd on April 15, 2015. He was transferred from Bristol County Jail to the maximum-security Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Cedar Junction in Walpole, MA for intake before serving the remainder of his life sentence at the maximum-security Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, which is adjacent to the medium-security Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Shirley, in Shirley, MA. Celebrity attorney Jose Baez, who famously defended Casey Anthony, successfully defended Hernandez in the 2017 double homicide case and was preparing to represent Hernandez’s appeal to the Lloyd murder case.
Aaron Hernandez Dies In Prison On April 19, 2017
Just five days after a jury found him not guilty in the 2012 double homicide case of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, Hernandez was found dead in his jail cell by a corrections officer. Hernandez had hanged himself with bed sheets and was pronounced dead at 4:07 AM at UMass Memorial Hospital in Leominster, MA. He had been heavily smoking the synthetic marijuana known as K2 in the days before his death. Hernandez did not leave a suicide note but wrote “John 3:16” in reference to the Bible verse on his forehead, which his former Gators teammate Tim Tebow often wrote on his eye black during football games. Hernandez became increasingly religious during his time in prison.
Aaron Hernandez’s Murder Conviction Is Vacated On May 9, 2017
Because of an old Massachusetts legal principle known as abatement, Hernandez’s murder conviction was vacated on May 9, 2017, because he died while his case was still technically open due to his appeal. While this law may appear to have little or no effect on Hernandez, it greatly affects the people close to the victim(s) and can prevent them from claiming compensation. In the case of Odin Lloyd, the abatement law dismissed all the convictions and charges against Hernandez, which opened the door for Hernandez’s family to seek compensation for Hernandez’s unfulfilled contract with the New England Patriots.
Aaron Hernandez’s Murder Conviction Is Reinstated On March 13, 2019
In 2019, Aaron Hernandez’s conviction for the murder of Odin Lloyd was reinstated by Massachusetts’ highest court, which ultimately ended the antiquated legal rule known as “abatement ab initio” or abatement. The Massachusetts court ruled that the principle was “outdated and no longer consonant with the circumstances of contemporary life, if, in fact, it ever was.” (via CNN).
The Lloyd family released a statement that read, “This decision has helped the family tremendously to obtain closure from the horrible loss of their beloved Odin. He was an inspiration to all who knew him and a devoted member of his family and the entire community.” Hernandez’s trial and more will be explored in American Sports Story.
Source: ESPN, NPR, CNN, Killer Inside