FALL RIVER, Mass. -- Reporters camped outside Superior Court Friday morning for the arraignment of ex-New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez for first-degree murder.
Several media members arrived before 6:30 am to make sure they were among the 24 granted credentials to cover the former football star's court appearance.
The credentials were issued at 10 a.m. for the arraignment of Hernandez at 2 p.m. A reporter from The Providence Journal was the 22nd media member to get a pass into the courtroom.
Hernandez's court appearance is expected to last about 20 minutes. He has been jailed at the Bristol County (Mass.) House of Correction in North Dartmouth, Mass. since his arrest on June 26.
He is accused of the execution-style murder of Odin L. Lloyd, 27, a semi-pro football player from Boston. His body was discovered in an industrial pit about a 1/2 mile from Hernandez's $1.3 million mansion in North Attleboro.
Lloyd had been dating the sister of Hernandez's girlfriend, Shayanna Jenkins. Jenkins and Hernandez have an 11-month old daughter.