A lawyer for Aaron Hernandez, said in closing arguments that his client was at the scene when Odin Lloyd was killed, but asserted that Hernandez did not commit the murder and was uncertain as to what to do after witnessing it.
Attorney James Sultan then rhetorically asked, “Did he make all the right decisions?” and answered his own question, “No,” arguing that Hernandez was so upset and confused after seeing a killing that he could not take any proper action.
“He was a 23-year-old kid who witnessed something, a shocking killing, committed by someone he knew. He didn’t know what to do, so he just put one foot in front of the other.”
Sultan said the two other men charged in Lloyd’s shooting death, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, both friends of Hernandez, committed the murder. Wallace and Ortiz have been charged in the killing and will be tried later. They have entered not guilty pleas.
Assistant District Attorney William McCauley argued in his closing statements that Hernandez planned the murder, drove Odin Lloyd to the deserted area in which he was killed, and that Hernandez actually pulled the trigger.
McCauley told the jury, “Ask yourself what was the purpose in driving to that spot at that time? He was driving. He’s the one who veered off the course to go down.” McCauley asserted that there could be “no other purpose” than to kill Odin in driving to the area at which Odin met his death.
While many commentators have noted that the heavily tattooed athlete has maintained an arrogant, swaggering attitude during much of the trial, he shed tears as the judge instructed the jury. A photograph shows a clearly distressed Aaron Hernandez wiping a tear from his face while listening to the judge.
DENISE NOE
