Jury to hear opening statements in murder trial of NFL’s Aaron Hernandez

Hernandez, 25, has pleaded not guilty in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, 27, who dated the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée.

Two alleged accomplices, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, have also pleaded not guilty and will be tried separately.

The Massachusetts case has taken on renewed attention because the Patriots are playing the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl and because Patriots owner Bob Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick are on the prosecution’s witness list.

Days after Lloyd’s slaying on June 17, 2013, Hernandez went to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and had conversations with Kraft and Belichick about Lloyd’s death, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation.

Both meetings were face to face, and Kraft later told investigators that Hernandez said flat-out he had nothing to do with Lloyd’s death, the source told CNN.

According to Belichick, the same was true, and the head coach told authorities he spoke with Hernandez about his whereabouts the night of Lloyd’s death, the source added. The day Hernandez was arrested, Belichick told reporters at a press conference he was shocked.

Surveillance video from security cameras at an industrial park showed an Altima heading toward a secluded area at 3:22 a.m.

At the same time, Lloyd’s phone sent the text messages to his sister.

Between 3:23 and 3:27 a.m., workers nearby reported hearing gunshots. At 3:29, a camera showed an Altima pulling into Hernandez’s driveway, about a half a mile from the death scene.

Three people got out of the car, and Lloyd was not one of them.

Nine days later, Hernandez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and other weapon-related charges.

CNN