Sports
Aaron Hernandez Portrayed as Angry with Odin Lloyd on Day 28 of Trial
Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez, right, listens during his murder trial as defense attorney Charles Rankin, left, looks on, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool)
Did Aaron Hernandez angrily stare down Odin Lloyd in a Boston nightclub two nights before Lloyd’s murder…or was Hernandez merely exhibiting his usual facial expressions while gazing onto a dance floor and conversing with the disc jockey? Did Hernandez furiously storm out of the nightclub with his head pointed down…or did he simply want to avoid recognition from autograph-seekers and other fans while briskly pacing toward his car?’
Testimony by eyewitness and friend of Lloyd, Kwami Nicholas, on Tuesday, the 28th day of the trial, gave jurors much to think about. From a legal perspective, Nicholas’s testimony opened the door for Bristol County (Mass.) prosecutors to establish a possible motive for Hernandez to have murdered Lloyd. To date, it remains a mystery why Hernandez would have wanted Lloyd dead. While motive is not required for a first-degree murder conviction, jurors normally want an explanation for why a defendant would intentionally seek to kill another human being. Nicholas didn’t offer that explanation. He did, however, signal that Hernandez was upset with Lloyd—at least until Nicholas faced cross-examination and his recollection of events and facts began to unravel.
Nicholas recalled standing near both Lloyd and Hernandez in the Rumor nightclub on the evening of Friday, June 14, 2013 and early morning of Saturday, June 15, 2013. This would be one of Lloyd’s last nights alive, as he was shot to death in an industrial park on Monday, June 17, 2013.
