Five years, two separate trialsa conviction and an acquittaland then a jail suicide abound with rumors of alleged homosexuality and speculation of neurological damage due to concussions; its no surprise then that Netflix would turn the Hernandez saga into an extravagant documentary, one surely meant to stand as this years Fyre Festival stand-in. The man who had it allmoney, talent, famegoes and throws it all away.
Here is a timeline of every major event in the Aaron Hernandez story. Much reporting comes from The Boston Globe .
The Killing of Odin Lloyd
2012
The story begins in South End, Florida, early morning, with a drive-by shooting that kills two men, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. The night before, Hernandez is seen at the Cure nightclub with Abreu, who spills a drink on the NFL star.
2013
During a trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, a friend of Hernandez, Alexander Bradley, is shot in the face. Bradley will later testify that the shooting was perpetrated by Hernandez in an attempt to silence Bradley on the 2012 killings, for which Hernandez is later charged.
Club security footage captures Hernandez and his sisters fianc, Odin Lloyd, apparently squabbling. The next day, Hernandez sends a text message to a friend out of state, asking him to come to Massachusetts and saying, You cant trust anyone anymore.
Video footage later that night captures Hernandez at home in Massachusetts carrying a handgun. He leaves the house with two men in a Nissan Altima. They pick up Lloyd who then sends a text to his sister, saying NFL and Just so you know. These are his last texts. Hernandez then arrives home and is seen entering his basement holding what appears to be a gun.
In the morning, Lloyds body is found by a jogger in an industrial park.
In the coming days, police search Hernandezs home. They also find a .22 caliber handgun by a nearby street. (Prosecutors later claim that Hernandezs friends, Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace, both identified with him that night, handled a .22. Hernandez is believed to have handled a .45 , the casings of which were found near the body. The .45 is never recovered.)
A week later, Hernandez is arrested at home. He is charged with first-degree murder and five weapons charges. Ortiz and Wallace are later arrested as well.
Ortiz tells investigators that Hernandez told Lloyd during the drive that he was chilling with people Hernandez didnt like. Ortiz says Hernandez got out of the car with Wallace and Lloyd. Ortiz then heard gunshots before Hernandez and Wallace returned to the car.
Much of the prosecutions case will be based on Ortizs statements.
Hernandez is arraigned and pleads not guilty to all six charges. A grand jury indicts Hernandezs fianc, Shayann Jenkins, for allegedly removing evidence from their home.
2014
Hernandez is indicted on two counts of first-degree murder for the 2012 killings of Abreu and Furtado. He pleads not guilty. Prosecutors in the Lloyd case believe Hernandez killed Lloyd, because he thought Lloyd possessed information linking Hernandez to the 2012 killings.
2015
The Lloyd trial begins. The prosecution, lead by Bristol Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg, claims Hernandez orchestrated, participated, and covered up the killing of Lloyd. The defense, lead by Michael Fee, argues that Lloyd was Hernandezs friend, that Hernandez would never risk his career in the NFL, that he was about to get married; Aaron was planning his future, not a murder.
The prosecution presents physical evidence, including footprints at the crime scene that match Hernandezs Nike Air Jordans and Hernandezs DNA on .45 shell casings in Hernandezs car. They remind jurors that they dont need to prove Hernandez pulled the trigger to secure a murder conviction; they can show that he knowingly participated and intended to follow through with the killing. After calling 131 witnesses over 39 days, the prosecution rests its case.
The defense calls three witnesses and argues that DNA could have ended up on the shell casings even if Hernandez never handled them.
In April, Hernandez is found guilty of first-degree murder as well as five weapons charges.
The Killing of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado
2017
The trial for the 2012 killings begins. The prosecution claims Hernandez, riding in a car with Bradley, who later claimed that Hernandez also shot at him, pulled up next to a BMW carrying Abreu and Furtado and fired five times at the vehicle. The defense, led by Jose Baez, claims that Bradley, the prosecutions star witness, was the one who fired the shots. Much of the Hernandez defense involves discrediting Bradleys account of the night, showing Bradley to be a convicted felon and alleged drug dealer. Baez also questions eye-witness accounts of the shooting; some claimed that Bradleys passenger look[ed] like a female.
Hernandez is acquitted of all charges.
The Suicide
In an interview on K&C (Kirk & Callahan, a morning radio show in Boston), Boston journalist Michelle McPhee says Hernandez killed Lloyd because he caught Hernandez in a compromising position with another man.
Two days later, early morning, Hernandez is found dead in his prison cell. He is naked and has been hanged with a bed sheet. In his cell are three hand-written notes.
McPhee claims the notes were intended for Hernadezs wife, his daughter, and his prison boyfriend. (The first two claims are later verified. The third recipient remains disputed.) McPhee also suggests that knowledge of an alleged homosexual relationship between Hernandez and a former high school classmate was believed by investigators to be the motive of the Lloyd killing.
Department of Corrections releases a 132-page report saying Hernandez gave little indication that he was suicidal. The report also mentioned that Hernandezs homosexuality had been discussed by inmates prior to his suicide.
Director Geno McDermotts Netflix documentary will act as an expansion of an earlier documentary, which highlighted many of the above events. McDermott's new feature, however, will focus on later developments in the case , particularly Hernandez's believed homosexuality.
Featuring new interviews with Hernandez's high school teammates, the documentary will argue that much of Hernandez's behavior was motivated by his apparent need to hide his sexuality. The documentary will also look at Hernandez's home life and upbringing.
Killer Inside hits Netflix tomorrow.
