The family of Odin Lloyd, the man who Aaron Hernandez has been charged with killing, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former New England Patriots tight end. Hernandez is currently being held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder.
According to documents obtained by The Herald News in Fall River, Mass., the lawsuit alleges Hernandez “maliciously, willfully, wantonly, recklessly or by gross negligence caused Odin Lloyd to suffer personal injuries that directly resulted in his death.” The lawsuit does not specify how much the Lloyd family is seeking in compensatory and punitive damages, though it is believed the number exceeds the value of Hernandez’s $1.25 million home.
In other words, the Lloyd family is alleging that Hernandez’s behavior in some way resulted in the death of Odin Lloyd, whether the 24-year-old pulled the trigger or not. The family is also seeking a court order to block the Patriots from paying the roughly $3 million of Hernandez’s contract that he believes he is still owed, as well as a real estate attachment up to $5 million on Hernandez’s home that would prevent him from placing it beyond the court’s reach if damages are awarded.
Prosecutors have previously claimed that Hernandez orchestrated the June 17 shooting of Lloyd. The filing includes a search warrant affidavit that details the Lloyd murder investigation.
In related news, police are currently investigating the death of another woman with ties to Hernandez. A woman from Hernandez’s hometown of Bristol, Conn. named Tabitha Perry was found dead on Monday. She is the same woman who survived a car crash in June that killed Thaddeus Singleton III, another associate of Hernandez. In August, Hernandez’s uncle Robert Valentine died in a moped crash.
The first two incidents were ruled as accidents and police reportedly do not suspect any suspicious activity at this point in their investigation of Perry’s death.
