Police Go Diving for Gun Connected to Aaron Hernandez’s Murder Case

On Monday, Massachusetts and Connecticut police searched in and around a lake near the hometown of Aaron Hernandez, the former NFL player recently charged with the murder of 27-year-old semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.

The authorities didn’t release information on why they searched Pine Lake in Bristol, Connecticut, but said it was at the request of Massachusetts prosecutors. WFSB-TV reported that police were looking for the murder weapon, a .45-caliber Glock that is being sought in the murder case.

Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Lloyd, whose body was discovered roughly a mile from Hernandez’s home in North Attleboro, Mass. on June 17th.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top