In addition to murdering de Abreu and Furtado, Hernandez had been accused of shooting three other men, including his friend Alexander Bradley, who was shot in the face.
Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end who was on trial for his alleged role in a double murder dating back to 2012, has been acquitted of the crimes.
Mr Hernandez was a tight end for the Patriots from 2010 to 2012 and just weeks after the double murder of Mr Abreu and Mr Furtado, he signed a $40 million contract with the team.
Hernandez's defense team reportedly argued that it was Bradley, not Hernandez who opened fire on the vehicle that night.
Bradley testified at the trial in exchange for immunity, and is now behind bars for an unrelated shooting incident. Baez said that Bradley received the "deal of a lifetime" from prosecutors. The jury announced its verdict on Friday for the killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in 2012.
ESPN reported that the jury deliberated for six days and returned with a not guilty verdict for the former New England Patriots football star. Defense attorneys said the case was made up of "smoke and mirrors" and attacked the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses. The presiding judge sentenced Hernandez to four-to-five years in prison, separate and apart from his existing life sentence for killing Odin Lloyd.
Opening Day: Giants ready for home game
Giants: RH reliever Hunter Strickland returned from the paternity list and LHP Steven Okert was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants got on the board and then some in a most peculiar way during Monday afternoon's game against the Diamondbacks.
Prosecutors attempted to connect an incident earlier that night where de Abreu accidentally spilled a drink on Hernandez.
Conley says the case was always about the victims. He said Hernandez later opened fire on the men's auto as they waited at a stoplight.
Hernandez will still be behind bars for the rest of his life after the murder of Odin Lloyd, but both he and his family seemed relieved over the acquittal in this case.
"Our theory of the case stands", Conley said.
But Hernandez was found not guilty for the remaining seven counts. The "murder weapon" was found on a person connected to Hernandez as well, prosecutors said, and cell phone experts said Hernandez's phone was nearby at the time of the shooting. Hernandez wanted five bullets visible in the cylinder of the gun and one cylinder empty, Nelson said.
Comments