Authorities on Tuesday unsealed more than 150 pages of court records related to the Odin Lloyd homicide, and the documents painted a clearer picture of the investigation into former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who has been charged with the man's murder.
NFL.com and NFL Network combed through all the documents, which were mostly search warrants and lists of items recovered by police. New information revealed included:
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» Hernandez was "argumentative" during his first encounter with police after Lloyd's death, according to documents. An affidavit said Hernandez asked, "What's with all the questions?" and he locked the door of his house behind him when police initially tried to talk to him. He came back to the door and gave police his lawyer's business card, then left again.
» Investigators wrote: "Mr. Hernandez did not ask officers whose death was being investigated. Mr. Hernandez's demeanor did not indicate any concern for the death of any person." Hernandez returned 10 minutes later and agreed to talk to police.
» In total, eight search warrants were executed. The objects found by authorities included a Sentry safe containing a box of .22 "game loads" ammunition, a scale found inside the safe, one gunshot residue kit, an Apple iPhone 5, an Apple iPad 16 GB tablet and a hard drive.
» Hernandez's girlfriend immediately started crying when told of Lloyd's murder. She later said she believed Lloyd dealt marijuana. Hernandez called his girlfriend during her conversation with police, who had pulled her over, and told her to stop talking, instructions that Hernandez told her had come from his sports agent.
» Hernandez's girlfriend said she was aware Hernandez did not return home on the night when authorities believe Lloyd was murdered. They had dinner for Father's Day earlier that night while a babysitter watched their child.
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» A cellphone found on Lloyd's body included a text from Hernandez on the morning of the murder. It said, "We still on." Lloyd's last text messages were with his sister, who had seen Lloyd leave for the night. After she asked "who was that," Lloyd responded "Nfl." (The NFL text had been mentioned before by prosecutors in court.) The last message Lloyd sent his sister was "just so u know."
» Lloyd had been driving a car rented in Hernandez's name from the TF Green airport in Rhode Island. Lloyd slept at Hernandez's home two nights before he was murdered.
» Police obtained a warrant to go through Hernandez's Gillette Stadium locker, the contents of which the Patriots had collected and put into a container after releasing the tight end. The search didn't reveal anything significant.
» A second search of the Hernandez home turned up a semiautomatic rifle in a Toyota parked in the driveway.
» Three employees of Needle Tech, a business a few hundred yards from the crime scene, said they heard three gun shots and a car door slamming around the time of the murder.
» From one search warrant request: "Additionally based upon the information from Enterprise Rental that Mr. Hernandez had rented and subsequently returned a damaged silver Nissan Altima with tire treads consistent with the tire tread patterns at the scene of the homicide, investigators reasonably believe that the video surveillance system will contain evidence that can assist investigators in determining who was present with Mr. Lloyd and Mr. Hernandez during the evening and early morning prior to and following the death of Mr. Lloyd."
» Video surveillance of Hernandez's property showed him meeting two men on the night of the homicide at 12:40 a.m. ET. One of the men was identified as Ernest Wallace, who has been charged as an accessory to murder. Hernandez is seen holding what looks like a firearm inside the house before leaving at 1:12 am. The men leave in a vehicle consistent with the 2012 Nissan Altima that Hernandez later returned to Enterprise.
» Video surveillance from a Blue Hill Express service station showed Hernandez in the same car buying Black & Mild cigars and bubble gum about 50 minutes later.
» Separate video showed Lloyd getting in the car with Hernandez and the two men around 2:30 a.m.
» Surveillance from cameras near the crime scene showed a vehicle entering at roughly 3:23 a.m. and departing at 3:27 a.m. Other cameras then show a vehicle on the streets of North Attleboro heading back to Hernandez's home.
» At approximately 3:30 a.m., Hernandez and the two other men were seen exiting the same car in Hernandez's driveway. Hernandez was seen holding what appeared to be a gun in his hand.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
