Aaron Hernandez slammed the door on police when they first arrived at his home to investigate the murder of Odin Lloyd — and one of his alleged accomplices fingered him as the trigger man.
Those and other fresh details of the case came out in 156 pages of court documents unsealed Tuesday in Attleboro District Court in Massachusetts following a request from media outlets for their release, as well as a separate set of court documents filed Tuesday in Florida. The documents include police reports, as well as eight separate warrants for Hernandez's home, car, phones, and security system, all of which detail how the investigation has unfolded, and what authorities have found to date.
Hernandez, the former New England Patriots star, has been charged with murdering Lloyd, and with five other gun-related offenses. He has pleaded not guilty. You can read a full backstory on the case here.
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Here, 10 of the most interesting items from those court documents.
1. Hernandez allegedly pulled the trigger
Carlos Ortiz, one of the two other suspects police have arrested in connection with the murder, told investigators that a third man linked to the case, Ernest Wallace, told him that Hernandez admitted to firing the fatal shots that killed Lloyd, according to documents filed Tuesday in a Florida court. Ortiz was arrested on weapons charges, while investigators have pinned the murder on Hernandez.
The documents were filed as part of the warrant justifying a search of Wallace's Florida home.
In addition, those court documents said police found a vehicle in Hernandez's hometown of Bristol, Conn., that was wanted in a 2012 double homicide in Boston. That vehicle was registered to Hernandez. Police had previously said they believed Hernandez may have been involved in those murders.
2. Hernandez was uncooperative with police
A police report said that Hernandez "did not ask officers whose death was being investigated" when they first came to his home, and that Hernandez's "demeanor did not indicate any concern for the death of any person."
The report also said Hernandez became agitated, asking, "What's with all the questions?" before slamming the door on investigators and directing them to speak with his attorney.
3. Hernandez told his girlfriend to stop cooperating, too
Hernandez's girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, was at first cooperating with police. However, Hernandez called her while she was being interviewed by authorities, and told her that his "sports agent said she should not speak with police," according to the documents.
4. Lloyd was allegedly a drug dealer
Jenkins, whose sister was dating Lloyd, told police that Lloyd was a marijuana dealer. "She often overheard him speaking in a 'lingo' that she interpreted as code words for marijuana transactions," according to the Boston Globe.
No one else who spoke with investigators described Lloyd as a drug dealer. Police found what appeared to be a scale for weighing drugs in a safe in Hernandez's North Attleboro home.
5. Police seized electronics, clothes, gun shells from Hernandez's home
In addition to the scale, police also took the following communications devices from Hernandez's home:
Police also took a pair of size 13 sneakers, a long sleeve shirt, jeans, and a bath towel, as well as some .22 caliber ammunition and a black duffel bag.
Authorities also searched Hernandez's locker at Gillette Stadium, but found nothing of interest.
6. Lloyd's phone showed he had plans with Hernandez the night he died
As the prosecuting attorney stated during Hernandez's arraignment, investigators found "extensive text and voice communication" between Lloyd and Hernandez on the night Lloyd was murdered.
Lloyd's phone records also showed that he called Hernandez twice that night, and that he had contact with at least one of the other suspects, Ernest Wallace. The records also showed that Lloyd texted his sister asking if she had seen who he was with. When she said she had not, he replied "NFL."
7. Police found car keys linked to Hernandez on Lloyd's body
Investigators found a cell phone, wallet, and two sets of keys to a rental car on Lloyd's body. The keys belonged to a black Chevy Suburban, rented out to Hernandez. Hernandez told police he had rented the car for Lloyd.
It was the discovery of those keys that led police to question Hernandez in the first place.
8. Surveillance footage showed Lloyd with Hernandez
Surveillance footage from a neighbor's home and Hernandez's home show Hernandez, his two alleged accomplices, and Lloyd together around the time Lloyd is believed to have been murdered.
9. The rental car agency found a shell casing
A manager at the car rental company Enterprise found a .45 caliber shell casing, blue bubblegum, and a child's drawing in a Nissan Altima Hernandez returned. The significance of that gum?
Police said ballistics tests showed the shell casing from the car matched those found at the crime scene.
10. There is still no murder weapon
Though police found bullets in Hernandez's home and in a car he returned, they said they have not found the .45 caliber gun used to kill Lloyd.
Police said they found four boxes of .45 caliber bullets at a home Hernandez rented in Franklin, Mass.
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