Jury selection is set to begin in the murder trial of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez.
The Associated Press reported that around 1,000 potential jurors are expected at Bristol County Superior Court on Friday and the selection process will extend into next week before 18 jurors are chosen.
Hernandez is accused of murdering semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd in June 2013. The victim was dating the sister of Hernandez’s finance at the time of his death. His body was found in an industrial park about a mile away from the athlete’s North Attleboro home. After police searched the 25-year-old’s house, he was taken into custody.
Hernandez’s former coach Bill Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft could be called as witnesses in the trial by the prosecution.
The former NFL star has plead not guilty to the murder, but as NBC News noted, even if he is not convicted of murdering Lloyd, his legal troubles are not over.
Hernandez will have a second murder trial for the 2012 killing of two men outside a Boston nightclub. Prosecutors contend that the men were fatally shot after an altercation with Hernandez inside the club.
A date for that murder trial has not yet been set.