Former NFL tight end Aaron Hernandez faces murder charge

NFL player Aaron Hernandez plotted the death of his friend, then shot and killed him in an industrial park in the early hours of June 17, authorities plan to prove when his case goes to trial.

Hernandez, who was released by the New England Patriots less than two hours after his arrest Wednesday, has been charged in the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semipro football player and friend of the former University of Florida football standout. He also faces five counts of weapons charges.

Aaron Hernandez was arrested Wdnesday for the murder of Odin Lloyd

Lloyd was discovered by a jogger in a remote area of the park, about a mile away from Hernandez' home, the Associated Press reported in a detailed account of the investigation.

If a series of texts, videos and eyewitness accounts are accurate, Hernandez executed Lloyd for talking to the wrong people at a night club on June 14, Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Bill McCauley said at his arraignment. Hernandez pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail.

McCauley said shortly before he died, Lloyd, who family members say was dating the sister of Hernandez' fiancee, sent a series of texts to his sister in attempt to confirm in whose company he had left his house.

"Did you see who I was with?" the first text read at 3:07 a.m. on June 17. "Who?" his sister replied sometime after.

"NFL," he texted back, then added: "Just so you know."

The last text was sent at 3:23 a.m. Moments later, authorities believe Lloyd was shot and killed by Hernandez or one of the two unidentified men with him.

Aaron Hernandez was released by the New England Patriots following his arrest

Hernandez also faces another legal issue as a man in Florida last week filed a lawsuit accusing the tight end of shooting him in the face at a strip club in February.

For more on the timeline of events, read the Associated Press detailed report here.

Hernandez is the 28th NFL player arrested since the Feb. 3 Super Bowl game marked the end of the season.

Cleveland Browns' Ausar Walcott, an undrafted rookie from University of Virginia, was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted murder for allegedly punching a man outside a northern New Jersey club. He also faces charges for aggravated assault and endangering an injured victim.

Walcott punched Derrick Jones in the head outside The Palace Gentlemen's Club Sunday morning, authorities told the New Jersey Bergen Record. Jones remains in critical condition at a New York hospital.

It isn't the first arrest for Walcott, a linebacker for the Virginia Cavaliers. In 2011, he was charged with assault and battery stemming from a fight. He was suspended from the team, but allowed to return after charges were dropped.

Ausar Walcott faces attempted murder charges

Mug shot from Ausar Walcott's 2011 arrest for assault and battery.

He was cut by the Browns following his arrest.
The NFL bears no responsibility for adult males getting in trouble with the law, nor should it. Hernandez, by his own admission, was well aware of troubled path he was treading, admitting after the Nov. 6 birth of his daughter that he needed to put his reckless behavior in check and work harder at doing the right thing.

Those words seem more likely to have rolled off his tongue than to have come from a place of deep, reflective pondering, given what McCauley said about the timeline of events. You hear stories of star athletes teetering on the edge of the law, committing brazen crimes assuming that their status places them above the law. But this story, if true, is different. It says a lot about the mindset of a person who urges two friends to return from an out-of-state trip to accompany him on a trip to lure and kill another friend while leaving sloppy traces of evidence all over the place. It was pre-meditated, albeit poorly.

If the details are true, that Hernandez was seen on video walking out of his house with a gun, driving into the park shortly before the shooting, driving out of the park and to his house, where his 8-month old daughter resides, then it paints a much bigger picture of a deeply troubled man.

The Patriots made the right choice in releasing Hernandez, disassociating the team from the disgrace player even if it would cost the team a pretty penny. By not waiting for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to suspend the tight end, the Patriots could ultimately be responsible for a good chunk of the five-year, $40 million contract Hernandez signed last season.

But even if he gets it, Henandez would likely cough up all that money in a civil lawsuit in addition to spending the rest of his life imprisoned, if found guilty of killing his friend.