Aaron Hernandez’s Former Florida Teammate Charged With Murder

Getty New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez

The situation with former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is well-documented and one of the more eye-opening topics in sports history. After Hernandez, who played his college football with the Florida Gators was convicted of the murder of Odin Lloyd in 2015, he hanged himself in prison.

This came just days after being found not guilty of double murder in a separate case. While the Hernandez trial won’t soon be forgotten, it may have come back to the spotlight for a brief period due to the latest news which was revealed.

According to CNN’s Eric Levenson and Shawn Nottingham, another former Florida Gators football player, Tony Joiner, was arrested and charged with murder.

Tony Joiner, whose full name is Earl Antonio Joiner, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Saturday in Lake Wales, Florida, for the 2016 killing of Heyzel Obando, according to Fort Myers, Florida Police.

As the News-Press reported, Obando was Joiner’s wife and the murder had been unsolved for three years after she was found dead at her apartment in 2016. The same report also cites that Joiner had been arrested twice for beating Obando, according to court records.

Per the report, police officers worked with Oxygen Television series “Cold Justice” and the Office of the State Attorney to make the arrest. Joiner played safety during his time with Florida, which spanned from 2004 to 2007.

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Obando’s mother, Isabel Martinez, spoke on the arrest of Joiner and stated that she hopes he “feels the weight of the law,” per David Aaro of Fox News.

“As a mother, I understand the pain his mother is going through,” Martinez said, “but as a mother, no one is going to take my pain away. Now that he is arrested, I hope he feels the weight of the law.”

Fox News also reports that Martinez will take care of Obando’s daughters, who are three and six years old.

Aaron Hernandez & Tony Joiner Played Together at Florida

While Joiner was with the team before Hernandez, the two did play together in 2007 when Joiner was a captain. That same season, the first in which Hernandez played for the Gators, the offense was led by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. It also featured wide receiver’s Percy Harvin and Riley Cooper among other future NFL players such as Maurkice and Mike Pouncey.

Obviously, the group only played together for a short period, but over Joiner’s final three seasons he totaled 150 combined tackles, 9.5 for loss and five interceptions. During his senior season in 2007, Joiner posted marks of 64 tackles, 4.0 for loss and two interceptions.

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