New York--Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday for the first-degree murder of a semi-pro football player two years ago.
The sentencing in a Massachusetts court after a four-month trial cements a spectacular fall from grace for the 25-year-old Hernandez, who once had a $40 million, five-year contract with the New England Patriots.
The victim, Odin Lloyd, was a 27-year-old semi-pro football player whose bloodied body was found in North Attleboro, Massachusetts on June 17, 2013, less than a mile from Hernandez's luxury home.
Lloyd had been dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
Hernandez glanced to the side and pursed his lips after the jury pronounced the first-degree murder conviction. His mother and fiancee sobbed in the gallery.
Dressed in a sharp suit and tie, he sat down as the jury convicted him on two separate gun and ammunition charges.
The 12-person jury had taken seven days to reach the unanimous verdict. The murder charge carried a mandatory life sentence, imposed shortly after his conviction.
Hernandez also faces murder charges for the drive-by shooting of two men in Boston in 2012.
AFP
