Aaron Hernandez Murder Investigation: Police Question Destroyed Surveillance System and Cell Phone
Aaron Hernandez, tight end for the New England Patriots, is under intense scrutiny for his possible involvement in the murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. Lloyd's body was found a mile from Hernandez's estate, and police believe that Hernandez may have intentionally destroyed evidence of the two being together before the murder.
"He destroyed his home security system," an investigator told ABC News of Hernandez. Police initially searched the home for three hours but returned with a new warrant when they learned of the smashed security system.
Hernandez's cell phone was turned over to police "in pieces" by his attorneys, the source added. It could be a critical piece of evidence linking Hernandez to Lloyd. The two were friends, but police have not ruled Hernandez out as a murder suspect.
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"He (Hernandez) has not been ruled out. We are not calling him a suspect, but he is definitely not in the clear," one police official told ABC News.
Hernandez was seen partying with Lloyd at a Boston nightclub on Friday night; police reviewed the surveillance video from the club in order to put together a timeline of Lloyd's last days and hours. He was found dead, shot in the back of the head, around 5:30 p.m. Monday by a jogger. Police believe he was killed between 1:00 and 6:00 a.m. that morning.
Officials have learned that someone hired a team of house cleaners on Monday to scrub Hernandez's mansion. They want to know exactly why that team was hired, and who hired them, sources said.
"It has been widely reported in the media that the state police have searched the home of our client, Aaron Hernandez as part of an ongoing investigation. Out of respect for that process, neither we nor Aaron will have any comment about the substance of that investigation until it has come to a conclusion," Hernandez's attorney, Michael Fee, said in a statement.
