Aaron Hernandez’s DNA found on bullet casing, joint near body

The Aaron Hernandez murder trial for the death of Odin Lloyd got underway Thursday in Bristol County, Mass., with both sides giving their opening statements. In his opening statement, Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg listed all the evidence that ties Hernandez to the crime, and it seems to be pretty strong.

According to The Boston Globe, Bomberg said that a marijuana joint found next to Lloyd’s body contained DNA from both Lloyd and Hernandez. They also say that a footprint matching Hernandez’s shoe was found at the murder scene in the industrial park in North Attleboro where Lloyd was killed. Hernandez’s DNA was also said to have been found on a .45-caliber shell casing in the car he rented.

There is even more evidence that ties Hernandez to having a weapon.

Bomberg reportedly said “a valet saw Hernandez standing that night outside a downtown Boston hotel, shoving a gun into the waistband of his pants and then covering the gun with his jacket before leaving the area with Lloyd.”

Despite evidence suggesting Hernandez had a gun that evening and was at the murder scene, the former Patriots tight end’s attorney says there is no evidence that Hernandez killed Lloyd.

“Mere presence is not enough in our system,” attorney Michael Fee said. “We can’t be convicted of a crime just because we hang with the wrong people or are in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Fee contends that Hernandez and Lloyd were friends and that Hernandez had no motive to murder his buddy.

One important thing to keep in mind with the case is that prosecutors do not have to prove Hernandez pulled the trigger to get a murder conviction, but that the former NFL player knowingly participated in the murder.

Despite the aforementioned evidence in the case, we learned in December that a lot of key evidence was thrown out, which should help Hernandez’s case.