Aaron Hernandez was indicted today on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Odin Lloyd, the friend whose body was found near his house.
The six-county grand jury indictment charges the former New England Patriots star with killing 27-year-old Lloyd, a semi-pro football player.
The indictment against Hernandez also contains weapons charges.
Lloyd was reportedly dating the sister of Hernandez's girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins, whose role in a potential cover-up has yet to be established.
Hernandez, 23, pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in June, and he is being held, in solitary confinement, without bail at a county jail.
His lawyers have maintained that the case against the former NFL standout is circumstantial and say that he will be able to clear his name.
Hernandez signed a five-year, $40 million deal last summer but was cut from the team within hours of his June 26 arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd.
He could face life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors say Hernandez orchestrated Lloyd's killing because he was upset at him for talking to people Hernandez had issues with at a club days earlier.
They say Hernandez and two associates, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, picked Lloyd up at his home in Boston, then drove to the industrial park.
Shortly before his death, authorities say, Lloyd sent his sister text messages. He asked if she had seen who he was with when he got into the car in Boston.
Then he indicated who it was in a way that Lloyd's family said he knew his sister would understand. "NFL," he wrote to her. "Just so you know."
Moments later, authorities say, Lloyd was dead after gunshots rang out. He apparently got out of the car for what he thought was a bathroom break.
Authorities have not said who fired the shots, but according to court documents, Ortiz told police in Florida that Wallace said it was Aaron Hernandez.
Wallace has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory to murder. Ortiz has pleaded not guilty to a firearm charge. Both are being held without bail.
Despite a massive search effort, and an apparent gun photo, authorities haven't found the murder weapon, believed to be a .45-caliber Glock pistol.
They have recovered a magazine for .45-caliber bullets in his car as well as ammunition of the same caliber inside a condo he rented, however.
Police also recovered a shell casing that matched those found at the homicide scene after tracking a rental car Hernandez was in the night Lloyd died.
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