Prosecutors presented a wealth of evidence that Hernandez was with Lloyd at the time he was killed, including home security video from Hernandez's mansion, witness testimony and cellphone records that tracked Lloyd's movements.
Hernandez was initially taken to the state's Cedar Junction prison, a maximum-security facility less than a 4-mile drive from Gillette Stadium, where he once caught touchdown passes from Tom Brady in front of tens of thousands of fans.
Jurors deliberated for 36 hours over seven days before rendering their decision,NFL Jerseys Clearance, which also included convictions on weapons charges.
He was to be processed there and eventually taken to Souza Baranowski prison in Shirley,Wholesale Jerseys Online, another maximum-security institution, according to Darren Duarte, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Corrections.
Security video from inside Hernandez's home showed him holding what appeared to be a gun less than 10 minutes after Lloyd was killed. The surveillance system also captured Hernandez, Wallace and Ortiz relaxing at his home hours after Lloyd was shot,NFL Jerseys Discount, hanging out in the basement "man cave," lounging by the pool and cuddling Hernandez's baby daughter.
As a result, they never offered jurors a motive beyond saying Hernandez appeared angry with Lloyd at a nightclub two nights before the killing.
The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole and automatically triggers an appeal to Massachusetts' highest court.
Defense lawyers left the courthouse without commenting.
But the attorney pinned the shooting on two of Hernandez's friends, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, saying his client was a "23-year-old kid" who witnessed a shocking crime and did not know what to do. Wallace and Ortiz will stand trial later.
Prosecutors said Hernandez organized the killing, summoned his two friends to help carry it out and drove Lloyd and the others to the secluded spot in the industrial park. During closing arguments, prosecutors also accused Hernandez of pulling the trigger, though under the law it was not necessary to prove who fired the shots to convict him.
Police almost immediately zeroed in on the former Pro Bowl athlete because they found in Lloyd's pocket the key to a car the NFL player had rented. Within hours of Hernandez's arrest, the Patriots cut him from the team. The team declined to comment on the verdict.
Hernandez, who grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, was an All-American from the University of Florida who was drafted by the Patriots in the fourth round in 2010.
Hernandez, 25, who had been considered one of the top tight ends in professional football, shook his head,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, pursed his lips and sat down after the jury forewoman pronounced him guilty in the slaying of Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old landscaper and amateur weekend football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
All 12 jurors and three alternates spoke to reporters Wednesday,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, saying they were shocked by the defense admission that Hernandez was at the scene of the killing — an acknowledgement that they said helped confirm that he was guilty.
Hernandez's lawyer, James Sultan, acknowledged for the first time during closing arguments that Hernandez was there when Lloyd was killed.
They also described how the judge talked to them privately after they reached their decision and told them about other allegations and evidence not presented in the case, including the 2012 slayings and the last texts Lloyd sent minutes before he died saying that said he was with "NFL."
Prosecutors have suggested Lloyd may have been killed because he knew too much about Hernandez's alleged involvement in a 2012 drive-by shooting in Boston that killed two. But they were not allowed to tell the jury that because the judge said it was speculation.
The jurors said that information reaffirmed their feeling that they had made the right decision.
FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for a deadly late-night shooting, sealing the downfall of an athlete who once had a $40 million contract and a standout career ahead of him.
"The jury found that he was just a man who committed a brutal murder," District Attorney Thomas Quinn said after the verdict. "The fact that he was a professional athlete meant nothing in the end."
In the 2012 case, Hernandez i