Deceased former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez’s 2013 murder conviction will stand, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court announced Wednesday.
The court reinstated Hernandez’s first-degree 2015 murder conviction for the 2013 slaying of Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of his former fiance’s sister. Lloyd, a former semi-pro football player, was shot multiple times in a parking lot near Hernandez’s home on June 17, 2013. Hernandez was arrested and sentenced to life in prison for the murder nine days later.
Hernandez’s initial conviction, however, was vacated in 2017 after the former New England Patriots’ tight end committed suicide in his jail cell. (RELATED: New Series Details Aaron Hernandez’s ‘Happy’ Final Days And Bizarre Sexuality [Watch])
Aaron Hernandez #81 of the New England Patriots smiles from the sidelines … (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
“The SJC has ruled that Aaron Hernandez’s conviction for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd will stand,” Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said in a statement Wednesday, according to New England Cable News.
“We are pleased justice is served in this case, the antiquated practice of vacating a valid conviction is being eliminated and the victim’s family can get the closure they deserve,” the statement continues.
In Wednesday’s ruling, the court also set a new precedent, saying that the previous rule to vacate a conviction after a suicide was “outdated and no longer consonant with the circumstances of contemporary life.”
Hernandez played for the Patriots from 2010-2012 and was considered one of the league’s rising stars before his career ended under shocking circumstances. (RELATED: Tweeting Out An Aaron Hernandez Photo For A Patriots Game Recap Is A Bad Idea)
Hernandez was 27 years old when he took his own life nearly two years ago.