Aaron Hernandez: Timeline Of Key Events
BOSTON (AP) — Key dates in the case of Aaron Hernandez:
— June 8, 2010: Hernandez, a standout tight end drafted from the University of Florida, signs a four-year contract with the New England Patriots.
— Jan. 1, 2012: He sets a career best with 138 receiving yards in a win over Buffalo.
— July 16, 2012: Two men, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, are shot to death in their car as they wait at a red light in Boston's South End neighborhood.
— Aug. 27, 2012: Hernandez signs a five-year, $40 million contract with the Patriots.
— February 2013: An associate, Alexander Bradley, is shot in the face in Florida. Bradley files a lawsuit alleging that Hernandez shot him after they argued at a strip club.
— June 17, 2013: The body of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, is found about a mile from Hernandez's mansion in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.
— June 26, 2013: Hernandez is arrested on a murder charge in Lloyd's slaying and taken from his home in handcuffs. He later pleads not guilty. The Patriots release him hours after his arrest.
— May 15, 2014: Hernandez is indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the shootings of de Abreu and Furtado. His lawyers say he is innocent.
— May 28, 2014: Hernandez pleads not guilty to charges in connection with the deaths of de Abreu and Furtado. A prosecutor says Hernandez was angry because de Abreu accidentally bumped into him at a nightclub while dancing, spilling his drink.
— Jan. 9, 2015: Hernandez goes on trial for murder in Lloyd's killing.
— April 7, 2015: Prosecutors and Hernandez's lawyers present their closing statements and the case goes to the jury.
— April 15, 2015: Hernandez is convicted of first-degree murder; carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
— Feb. 14, 2017: Hernandez goes on trial for murder in the 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
— April 6, 2017: Prosecutors and Hernandez's lawyers present their closing arguments.
— April 7, 2017: The jury begins deliberating.
— April 14, 2017: Hernandez acquitted of murder in the 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
— April 19, 2017: Hernandez found hanging by a bed sheet in his prison cell, dies at hospital.
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