By Daniel Gonzalez
Staff Writer
The tight end for the New England Patriots, Aaron Hernandez, was indicted on a charge of murder for killing a friend in Bristol, Mass., in August—
Hernandez’s official indictment and arraignment for the six crimes took place Sept. 6.
The crimes he has been indicted for are comprised of first-degree murder, charge and five weapon charges. The indictment against Hernandez was based on circumstantial evidence.
“Circumstantial evidence is when there is no direct evidence, such as DNA, eye-witnesses or video taken of the direct crime,” said Troy Hinrichs, professor of the criminal justice program at California Baptist University.
Hernandez was accused of murdering two individuals—one a 27-year-old semi-professional football player, whose name has not been released to the public and Hernandez’s friend, Odin Lloyd.
“The evidence against Hernandez is overwhelming with the destroyed security system, then Hernandez coming out on video a few minutes after the approximate time of the killing, and that his home was only a few blocks from the murder,” Hinrichs said.
Law enforcement officers found a weapon in the trunk of Hernandez’s car that was linked to two other Boston murders in 2012.
As Hernandez’s case unravels, the prosecution is finding previous times where Hernandez was violent and had encounters with law enforcement.
Hinrichs said that does not necessarily make him guilty of murder in which he has been accused of.
Followers of the Hernandez case, such as Pierce B. Benlian, junior applied statistics major, believe that Hernandez has ruined his life and his professional football career.
“What he did was dumb and ruined his life for something that was not even worth it,” Benlian said.
Hernandez awaits his trial date, which has yet to be announced by the courts.
