About an hour and a half before Odin Lloyd was shot to death, the suspect in his killing, Aaron Hernandez, was captured on video dancing at a gas station south of Boston.
The former New England Patriots player has pleaded not guilty in the death of Lloyd, 27. The victim was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee.
In security surveillance video shown in court Thursday, Hernandez pulls up at a gas station just after 2 a.m. on June 17, 2013.
He gets out, and so does Carlos Ortiz, who has also pleaded not guilty in the killing and is being tried separately. Prosecutors say Ernest Wallace, who is charged with being an accessory after the fact, was also in the car.
Ortiz has a white towel around his neck. Prosecutors have said a white towel was later found at the crime scene.
Eight loud bangs
In the video surveillance, Ortiz and Hernandez appear off balance. At one point, the Hernandez fumbles with the pump’s hose, then moves in front of his headlights, swaying and moving his arms over his head.
Hernandez walks into the gas station, buys some gum and cigars from a clerk, then he and Ortiz leave at 2:12 a.m.
About 20 minutes later, Lloyd gets into the car after it pulls up outside his home in the Dorcester section of Boston.
Prosecutors say Lloyd was shot dead in an industrial park by 3:30 a.m. Two witnesses have testified hearing up to eight loud bangs.
Shortly after, the same car pulled up into Hernandez’s driveway with the three men.
Vodka, marijuana and friends
Earlier that night, Hernandez had dinner with his fiancee and two other couples at a bar in Providence, Rhode Island , according to testimony from Kelly Rose Belanger, the manager of the bar.
Along with shrimp, crab cakes and chicken wings, the group had 11 cognacs, 10 sex on the beach drinks and beer.
Belanger said Hernandez and another man left their group more than once to smoke marijuana outside. When customers complained about the smell of marijuana wafting inside the bar, Belanger asked Hernandez to stop smoking. He did.
Hernandez picked up the tab for the group, paying $243 plus a $30 tip, according to Belanger.
Investigators have said he then drove home and left with Ortiz and Wallace, before eventually picking up Lloyd.
Lloyd’s younger sister, Shaquilla Thibou, is expected to take the stand Friday.
Prosecutors have said she saw her brother get into a car outside her home about an hour before he was killed.
The judge has said Lloyd’s sister is allowed to say she received four texts from her brother minutes before he was killed, but she won’t be allowed to discuss what they said.
In pretrial hearings, prosecutors have said Lloyd’s final text read “nfl … just so u know.”