Former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez charged with murder

Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with murder Wednesday in the death of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old acquaintance whose bullet-riddled body was found less than a mile from the football player’s home in North Attleborough, Mass.

Hernandez also faces five gun-related charges.

He entered a plea of not guilty to all the charges.

Arrested at his home Wednesday morning and subsequently released by the Patriots, Hernandez was arraigned in an Attleborough courtroom Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities conducted multiple searches of the home, including the use of police dogs, emerging with at least 10 paper bags of potential evidence. Police also searched a pond near the home but reportedly found no evidence.

Hernandez was arrested at his home Wednesday morning, met at the front door by several Attleborough and state police officers. He reportedly was shirtless when he answered the door but was led out to a police cruiser with a white T-shirt pulled over his shoulders and torso, with his arms underneath the shirt and hands cuffed behind his back.

Reports circulated last week that police had drawn up an arrest warrant for Hernandez for obstruction of justice, that he had turned over his cellphone “in pieces” and that the video security system in his house had been intentionally destroyed.

Early this week, Hernandez’s lawyer, Michael Fee, said his client had been subject to “a relentless flood of rumors, misinformation and false reports in the media.”

Less than two hours after Hernandez was arrested, he was released by the Patriots, who had been quiet for the last nine days. Upon cutting him, the Patriots issued a statement:

“A young man was murdered last week and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss. 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.”

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