FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez said in a court filing released Tuesday that he felt helpless and concerned about his fiancee and their baby when police investigating a 2013 killing questioned him during a warranted search at his home.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to murder in the June 2013 shooting of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd of Boston. The body of Lloyd, who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee, was found near Hernandez’s North Attleboro home.
The affidavit contains Hernandez’s first public statement on the case. It supports a motion to suppress evidence related to his cellphone, which he told police how to access.
“I felt helpless in the face of the occupation of my house by the police,” he said. “I was also very concerned about what would happen to my fiance and our baby if I refused to answer their questions.”
Hernandez said police stayed with him during the two-hour search on June 18, which involved about 10 officers. He said police asked him for his cellphone and its password. He said he gave them the password and told them his lawyers had the phone.
Hernandez’s lawyers say he should have been given a Miranda warning about his right to remain silent.
Hernandez said he and his attorneys had told police the night before they should direct questions to the attorneys.
Last week, the attorneys filed a motion saying police didn’t have a proper warrant to take Hernandez’s phone from them at their office.
The attorneys filed a separate motion Tuesday challenging the warrant used for a search at Hernandez’s rented apartment in Franklin.
Hernandez, originally from Bristol, Connecticut, also has pleaded not guilty in a separate Boston case charging him with killing two men after a brief nightclub encounter in 2012.
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