...the State of Massachusetts charging former New England Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez with six crimes, the most serious of which is first degree Murder.
Hernandez was released from his contract with the Patriots on Wednesday morning in response to being arrested, the team and the NFL releasing short statements telling of their disappointment with his alleged role in the homicide, and also expressing their sorrow to the grieving family of the slain man.
Prosecutors laid out in chilling detail the execution of 27 year old Odin Lloyd, the trail of video surveillance footage and cell phone text communications painting a brutal and damning connection between Hernandez and the man whom he considered a friend...
...so castigating the presentation that the Judge ordered Hernandez held without bail, the first of what could be a savage string of losses for the former Patriot and his high-priced legal team.
If one were inclined to follow the elaborately itemized chronology presented by the district attorney - the clarity of detail such that it seemed like something right out of the movie Enemy of the State - it paints Hernandez as nothing but a street thug with a vendetta.
The arraignment at the Attleboro District Court also saw Hernandez charged with possessing a firearm without a license, possessing a large capacity firearm and a firearm without an ID card.
Hernandez plead not guilty to all charges.
As Bristol County assistant district attorney William McCauley presented the synopsis of the State's evidence against Hernandez, the mother of the victim fled the packed courtroom in tears - Hernandez, standing with his attorney and handcuffs adorning his tattooed wrists stood glaring at McCauley, occasionally breaking his focus and peering into the seated crowd.
McCauley concluded his soliloquy by accusing Hernandez of orchestrating Lloyd's "Execution", contacting accomplices and putting into action a plan that would end Lloyd's life - while defense attorney Michael Fee called the prosecution's argument "Circumstantial" and "not a strong case", then addressing the bail portion of the hearing by arguing that his client should be treated as any other member of society and given the opportunity for bail so that he "can return home to his eight month old daughter"...
...an argument that held little weight given the evidence against Hernandez, Judge Daniel O'Shea ordering Hernandez to be held without bail despite the defenses argument that Hernandez had proven that he was not a flight risk.
Part of his decision probably based on the fact that the murder weapon is as yet unrecovered and Hernandez's proclivity for destroying evidence as outlined by McCauley.
Hernandez's legal team promised to appeal the bail decision, but in the interim his next court appearance has been set for July 24th.
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