Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who has been charged with murder in the death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, is being investigated in connection with a double homicide in Boston last year.
According to investigators, Hernandez and his group got into a fight with two men at Cure, a nightclub in the South End, on July 16, 2012. The two men, Safiro Furtado and Daniel Abreau, left the club with three other men in a BMW sedan.
Just after 2 am, Abreu stopped at a traffic light on Shawmut Avenue and was about to make a left turn onto Herald Street when a gray or silver SUV with Rhode Island plates pulled up alongside the BMW. Someone inside the SUV opened fire, killing 29-year-old Abreu and 28-year-old Furtado . One of the men in the backseat was shot three times in the arm and was rushed to Tufts Medical Center, where he was treated and released. The two other men were unharmed and fled the car.
Law enforcement officials said investigators believe that Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s girlfriend, may have had information on Hernandez’s role in Abreu and Furtado’s murders, which were never solved.
“The motive might have been that the victim knew [Hernandez] might have been involved,” an official said.
The body of Odin Lloyd was found June 17 in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez’s North Attleboro home. The 23-year-old was uncooperative with police and smashed his security system before his home was searched.
Wednesday, Hernandez pleaded not guilty to murder and firearms charges . A second man connected to Lloyd’s murder, 27-year-old Carlos Ortiz , was also identified and arrested. Ortiz — who is from Hernandez’s hometown of Bristol, Connecticut — was initially picked up on probation violation charges . Ortiz has already appeared in court and said he won’t fight extradition to Massachusetts.
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