Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was scheduled to be heard on his probable cause hearing but instead faced indictments for first degree murder and weapons charges. The indictments were handed out by a grand jury according to Bristol County (Mass) District Attorney Samuel Sutter.

The 23 year old NFL football pro was charged with the June 17 murder of Odin Lloyd, Hernandez's friend and semi-pro football player. Hernandez had plead not guilty and has been in jail, held without bail from June 26.

Should Hernandez be convicted of the charges indicated in the indictment, he faces a life sentence without possibility of parole. He escapes the death penalty, as the state of Massachusetts does not have a statute imposing this penalty.

Aside from the possibility of living the rest of his life behind bars, Hernandez also forfeits his recently signed contract worth USD39,582,000 for the next seven years. The signing bonus he had received worth USD12,500,000 would need to be returned to the team that signed him. He also stands to lose his USD15.95 million guaranteed salary to play football. The salary would be returned to the team.