The Latest: Ex-NFL star's lawyer says state's witness lied
BOSTON (AP) The Latest on closing arguments in the double-murder trial of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez (all times local):
4:40 p.m.
The jury in the double-murder trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez has been sent home for the day after hearing instructions from the judge on the law.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations Friday after getting final instructions from Judge Jeffrey Locke.
During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutor Patrick Haggan said Hernandez gunned down two men in Boston in 2012 after one of them accidentally bumped into Hernandez at a nightclub and spilled his drink.
Hernandez's lawyer called the state's star witness the real killer. He said Alexander Bradley - a former friend of Hernandez's - shot the men over a drug deal.
Hernandez is also charged with witness intimidation and accused of shooting Bradley in the face to silence him.
Hernandez is serving a life sentence in another murder case.
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1:35 p.m.
A prosecutor and a lawyer for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez have finished their closing arguments in his double-murder trial.
Jurors are expected to begin deliberations late Thursday afternoon after the judge gives them instructions on the law.
In his final appeal to jurors, prosecutor Patrick Haggan said Hernandez gunned down two men in Boston in 2012 because he had ''an illogical sense of being disrespected.'' He said Hernandez became enraged after one of the men had accidentally bumped into Hernandez at a nightclub and spilled his drink.
In his closing argument, Hernandez's lawyer called the state's star witness the real killer. He said Alexander Bradley - a former friend of Hernandez's - shot the men over a drug deal.
Hernandez is already serving a life sentence in another murder case.
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12:05 p.m.
A prosecutor in the double-murder trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez says in closing arguments that Hernandez killed two men because he had ''an illogical sense of being disrespected.''
Prosecutor Patrick Haggan told jurors Hernandez killed Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado after de Abreu bumped into him at a Boston nightclub and spilled his drink on him. He said Hernandez became enraged because he saw it as a sign of disrespect.
Haggan told jurors Thursday: ''You know who the killer is.''
Hernandez's lawyer told jurors during his closing argument that Hernandez's former friend, Alexander Bradley, killed the two men over a drug deal. Bradley was the government's star witness.
Hernandez is already serving life in prison for the 2013 killing of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.
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10:05 a.m.
A lawyer for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez has told jurors that the prosecution's star witness is ''a perjurer and a liar'' who is the real killer of two men Hernandez is accused of gunning down over a spilled drink.
During closing arguments Thursday, attorney Jose Baez told jurors that prosecutors made a ''deal with the devil'' when they agreed to give immunity to Hernandez's former friend, Alexander Bradley. Baez said Bradley got the ''deal of a lifetime'' for claiming that Hernandez shot two men after one of them accidentally bumped into Hernandez at a Boston nightclub and spilled his drink.
Prosecutors have said Hernandez was enraged over the encounter at the club because he felt disrespected. They are scheduled to give their closing argument after the defense concludes its closing.
Hernandez is already serving life in prison for the 2013 killing of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.
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12:08 a.m.
Jurors in the double murder trial of ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez are set to hear closing arguments after more than a month of testimony about a crime that prosecutors say was fueled by anger over a spilled drink.
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday.
The former New England Patriots tight end is charged in the fatal shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado on July 16, 2012.
A friend who was with Hernandez testified that Hernandez opened fire on the men's car two hours after de Abreu bumped into Hernandez at the club and spilled his drink.
But Hernandez's lawyers say the friend - Alexander Bradley - shot the men over a drug deal.
Hernandez already is serving life in prison for the 2013 killing of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd.
