Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been indicted in the 2012 killings of two men in Boston.
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Boston police spokeswoman Neva Coakley confirmed the indictment Thursday. Hernandez is already being held without bail after pleading not guilty to murder in the unrelated death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd last year.
In the 2012 case, victims Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado were shot as they sat in a car in Boston's South End on July 16. Police have said they were shot by someone who drove up alongside in an SUV and opened fire. Boston police have written in an affidavit there is probable cause to believe Hernandez was driving a vehicle used in the shooting and "may have been the shooter.'
Massachusetts law enforcement officials will hold an 11:30 a.m. news conference to discuss details of their investigation into the deaths of Abreu and Furtado.
Hernandez has been charged with first-degree murder in the June 2013 shooting death of Lloyd, a Boston resident who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins. It had been widely reported that Lloyd might have had knowledge about the Boston slayings.
The indictment raises the possibility that Hernandez played the 2012 football season after killing two men.
Just over a month after allegedly committing the murders in July 2012, Hernandez received a $40 million contract extension from the Patriots and talked about being inspired by his family to make smart decisions.
"I called [my family] and told them obviously what the contract was, and the basics about about it," he said at the team's annual charity gala on Aug. 27, 2012. "They were all crying. I was crying right with them. This is probably one of the best days of my life. I'll remember this day forever. I just hope I keep going, doing the right things, making the right decisions so I can have a good life, and be there to live a good life with my family."
Information from ESPNBoston.com and The Associated Press was used in this report.