LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A 27-year-old Louisville man has been acquitted of murder and burglary charges in relation to the deaths of two men near Bowman Field in 2018.
Aaron Hernandez had been charged with burglary, two counts of murder and tampering with physical evidence. However, on Aug. 30, a jury found him not guilty of murder and burglary.
Hernandez's charge of tampering with evidence was dismissed in trial.
In January of 2018, police arrested Hernandez alleging he was responsible for killing 30-year-old Joshua Rice and 31-year-old David Kandelaki at an apartment in the 2900 block of Abigail Drive.
Hernandez was eventually apprehended in Texas and was extradited back to Louisville.
The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Danielle Yannelli, said the state had strong 'circumstantial' evidence, but ultimately she thinks the jury wanted physical evidence to find Aaron Hernandez guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Yanelli said she presented the jury with what she could.
For example, she showed evidence that Hernandez googled 'how to murder someone and get away with it,' and then clicked on a link showing him how.
Another example, Yannelli said Rice and Hernandez had been romantically involved for three years and she presented evidence that Rice petitioned for a protective order against Hernandez, but it wasn't granted. Rice was granted a summons, and he and Hernandez were due in court on Jan. 24.
Plus, Yannelli presented evidence that on Jan. 18, a day after the murders, Hernandez withdrew a large sum of money, canceled his car insurance, and bought a bus ticket to Mexico.
However, this evidence, and didn't lead to a 'guilty' verdict.
"Those 12 jurors making a determination on whether or not they're going to find someone guilty of the ultimate crime of murder, I think when they get back there, it becomes a little bit harder and they, they require that physical evidence," Yannelli said.
She also said jurors hold the prosecution to a high standard.
Though the murder weapon was never found, Yannelli said they chose not to test any evidence from the scene because they felt that any evidence they sent off was going to show Hernandez's DNA because he only recently moved out of the apartment he and Rice shared.
Hernandez's Defense attorney Rob Eggert said he believes the lack of physical evidence was the sticking point as well.
He shared a statement with WHAS11:
"We are very grateful to the jury for its decision in the Hernandez trial. I believe the jury wanted the physical evidence at the scene to be collected and tested, and it was not."
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