The murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez began on Friday. The trial was for the June 2013 murder of a semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.

The case exposed the rich young star's drift into a violent streak. The occurrence also reinforced the point of several people who question many NFL player's off-field behaviour.

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At only 25-years old, Hernandez was charged with killing his friend Lloyd, whose body was found in an industrial park in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Upon inspection, the body was shot several times and discarded near a mound of construction waste.

While the whole case against Hernandez is circumstantial at best, a conviction would mean life without parole for the Patriots player.

The Lloyd killing is only the start of Hernandez's worries though, as he is also charged in a drive-by shooting that killed two men outside a Boston nightclub in 2012.

The evidence against Hernandez in those cases would never have surfaced if a former associate did not also sue for also being shot on a separate occasion.

The start of the trial was marked with the judge telling the first batch of prospective jurors that they could still be chosen to sit on the panel even though they have already heard of the high-profile case.

The court planned to bring in prospective jurors in three groups of 125 per day in order to fill out questionnaires.

More than 1,000 people are expected to report as prosecutors and defense lawyers haggle over whom to seat on the jury.

"We look forward to a jury being selected that is fair and impartial to both sides," he said.

Starting next Thursday, jurors will be told whether to report for the second phase of the trial. The judge will then conduct individual questioning of jurors.

A total of eighteen jurors will be selected, with the entire process expected to last through next week, if not longer.

TagsAaron Hernandez, new england patriots, NFL, Murder Trial, Odin Lloyd