Lloyd was killed from bullets fired from a semi-automatic, .45 caliber handgun, prosecutor William McCauley said. Lloyd was shot in the “chest and side.” Hernandez was also charged with multiple weapons offenses, including possession of a large-capacity firearm and possession of a firearm without an ID card. Hernandez faces a total of six charges.
McCauley alleged the shooting stemmed from an incident during a trip Hernandez and Lloyd took to the Rumor nightclub in Boston on June 14 .
Hernandez, McCauley said, texted Lloyd about 9 p.m. on June 16 to arrange a meeting with him. He then texted friends in Connecticut to “get up here,” McCauley said. Surveillance footage at Hernandez’s home showed the football player leaving with a gun, McCauley said. He had also said he was upset and couldn’t trust anyone anymore, McCauley said.
Hernandez and two others picked up Lloyd at his Dorchester home about 2:30 a.m. on June 17, McCauley said, as Lloyd’s sister watched. After Lloyd was picked up at the home, Hernandez told Lloyd he was upset that Lloyd had talked to people he “had troubles with” at the Rumor nightclub in Boston on Friday night, McCauley said.
Lloyd texted his sister at 3:07 a.m., saying “Did you see who I’m with,” McCauley said. When his sister responded, Lloyd again texted at 3:22 a.m. “NFL” and then “Just so you know.”
Surveillance footage showed the rented silver Nissan Altima that Hernandez was driving went down the remote gravel road in North Attleboro leading to the industrial area where Lloyd’s body was found at 3:23 a.m., McCauley said. “At 3:27 a.m., the car came back up the road, McCauley said. People who were working the overnight shift at a nearby business reported hearing multiple gunshots at about that time, McCauley said.
“He (Hernandez) drove the victim to that remote spot and then orchestrated his execution,” McCauley said.
McCauley said Lloyd was shot multiple times and killed right after he got out of the car. Investigators found five, 45-caliber shell casing near where Lloyd's body was found, McCauley said, adding that the autopsy showed, "This was not a body that had been dumped there."
In addition, after Hernandez returned the silver Nissan Altima to a rental company the next day, a company employee found a shell casing under the driver's seat that matched the shell casings found at the site, McCauley said. The Nissan, which had damage to its side mirror, was traded for a Chrysler 300, and surveillance footage shows that vehicle going back to Hernandez's house and the two men who were with Hernandez and Lloyd the night before later left in it, McCauley said. The two men who were with Hernandez the night Lloyd died were not identified in court today.
Several guns were found in Hernandez's home, but not the gun investigators believe was the murder weapon, McCauley said. Also, the 14 cameras inside and outside the player’s $1.3 million mini-mansion in North Attleboro had “six to eight hours” of footage missing around the time of Lloyd’s shooting, McCauley said.
The former Florida standout was followed by media helicopters, for the second time since the homicide on his street broke more than a week ago, as he sat in the back of a police cruiser as he was brought into the court in handcuffs. Earlier today authorities announced the arrest:
“Today at approximately 8:47 a.m. Aaron Hernandez was arrested by Massachusetts State Police and North Attleboro Police,” said Bristol District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Yasmina Serdarevic in a statement. “He will be arraigned at Attleboro District Court.”
Hernandez’s home has been repeatedly searched by police since the homicide last week of Lloyd, whose body was found in an industrial park steps from Hernandez’s home.
The Patriots released Hernandez this morning.
“A young man was murdered last week and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss,” the team said in a statement. “Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing. We support their efforts and respect the process. At this time, we believe this transaction is simply the right thing to do.”
Following Hernandez’s arraignment, Bristol District Attorney C. Samuel Sutter met with the press and appealed for the public's help in the case.
Wearing a white V-neck T-shirt, Hernandez was put in a North Attleboro police cruiser as he was led out of his house by plainclothes officers this morning. He’s being arraigned in the same outfit this afternoon, where he remains stoic.
On Fayston Street in Dorchester, Lloyd’s family declined to comment this morning. Many of those family members have just entered the court for the arraignment and are seated in the front row, with an older man embracing a teenage girl.
One next-door neighbor sweeping the sidewalk in front of her house shook her head in disbelief as a mob of media swarmed Lloyd’s home.
“I used to change his Pampers,” the woman said, declining further comment.
Another neighbor expressed happiness that Hernandez was arrested in connection with the Dorchester man’s slaying.
“I’m so glad,” said the woman who asked to be identified by only her first name, Marcia. “We’re all so happy. We will leave it in the hands of the Lord. God will take care of it.”
Of Lloyd, she said: “He was a son. A kid. A good kid.”
A few members of Lloyd’s family have left the court in tears as details of the slaying are spelled out by a prosecutor.
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