Aaron Hernandez was formally charged with the murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd on Wednesday, but to this point the prosecution has not revealed anything about what investigators believe the former New England Patriots tight end’s motive would have been for killing. On Thursday, a report surfaced claiming police are investigating Hernandez as a possible suspect in a double murder that took place in Boston in July 2012. Now, a separate report indicates the two cases may be linked.
On July 16, 2012, two men were shot to death while they waited in a car at a red light. Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a fight that had broken out at a Boston club called Cure earlier in the night between two men and a group that included Hernandez. Two men, Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado, were killed while three others survived the shooting. The murders were left unsolved.
According to the Boston Globe, law enforcement officials now believe that Lloyd may have had information about the July 16 double murder, which may have motivated Hernandez to kill him.
“The motive might have been that the victim knew [Hernandez] might have been involved,” one of the officials reportedly told the Globe.
Neither police nor the families have had information about the deaths of Abreu and Furtado, believing they had no ties to gangs or criminal activity. The SUV from where the shots were fired at the victims was never recovered.
[Related: Aaron Hernandez reportedly has gang ties, feared for his life]
Obviously, there are still a ton of moving parts and unanswered questions surrounding both Lloyd’s murder and the double murder from last summer. If the two cases are linked and Hernandez was involved with both, his chances of ever playing football again — or not spending his life in jail — could become even slimmer.
See all the LBS coverage on the Aaron Hernandez murder
