The three families of Aaron Hernandez’s victims have pledged not to stop fighting for their share of his millions after the former NFL player committed suicide. Now, questions remain about how much of his money is left and how is death will affect these civil cases. However the cases play out, Hernandez’s four-year-old daughter and long-time girlfriend will surely lose out. In another interesting twist, because Hernandez was due for an appeal at the time of his death, a Massachusetts legal principle customarily requires the convictions of defendants who die before their appeal to be vacated. This principle can make it difficult for related civil suits to succeed. Further, if the conviction is vacated, the New England Patriots must pay Hernandez’s estate $3.5 million, a portion of his bonus that was withheld after his arrest.
See James Wilkinson, Fight for Aaron’s Millions: The Families of Hernandez’s Victims Go to War over His Estate (if There’s Anything Left) as Odin Lloyd’s Mom Says the NFL Star’s Suicide Was ‘Another Form of Justice’, Daily Mail, April 19, 2017.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
