National Football League

Hernandez jury set to resume deliberations for fifth day

Published Apr. 13, 2015 5:30 a.m. ET

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FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Jurors deciding whether to convict former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez of murder went back to work Monday for a fifth day of deliberations.

The 12 jurors spent nearly 20 hours last week deliberating. They will work late into the afternoon unless they reach a verdict.

Hernandez, 25, is charged with the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee. Lloyd's body was found in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez's home in North Attleborough.

Hernandez lawyer Michael Fee says the defense team won't comment after a verdict, regardless of the outcome.

Hernandez's lawyers have acknowledged he was there when Lloyd was killed, and they said he witnessed the killing. They questioned why he would put his career on the line to kill someone. At the time, Hernandez had a $40 million contract with the Patriots.

Prosecutors say he thought no one would believe he did it.

If jurors decide Hernandez killed Lloyd, they can convict him of either first-degree or second-degree murder.

To convict him of first-degree murder, they must find that he killed Lloyd with deliberate premeditation, or with extreme atrocity or cruelty, or both. It carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

For a second-degree murder conviction, jurors must find that Hernandez either intended to kill Lloyd, cause grave harm to him or do something that he knew would likely cause Lloyd to die. It carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Even if he is acquitted, Hernandez will not be released from custody. He has pleaded not guilty to murder in Boston, where he is accused of the drive-by killing of two men in 2012. Prosecutors say he felt disrespected after one of the men bumped into him and spilled his drink.

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