Grisly history behind former NFL star turned murderer’s car starts bidding frenzy
The vehicle driven by former NFL star Aaron Hernandez ahead of his murder conviction has gone on sale for a killer price just weeks after his death
THE football world was sent into meltdown after NFL star Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his jail cell last month.
It was the final dark chapter in the life of the former New England Patriots tight end, who was serving a life sentence after being found guilty of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of his fiancee.
Hernandez was also tried and acquitted for a double homicide in 2012.
A vehicle prosecutors described as the “murder car” during the case is now up for auction as a morbid piece of sports memorabilia.
ESPN reported over 100 people had placed bids on the 2006 Toyota 4 Runner on eBay as of Wednesday.
Rhode Island car dealer Jack Fox, who leased the SUV to Hernandez as part of a promotional agreement, had the car come back into his possession.
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He partnered with Massachusetts-based car dealer Buddy Clair in an attempt to sell it to interested buyers.
“We figured there’s a lot of sports people out there, a lot of people that want memorabilia,” Clair told CNN.
“It’s just a strange thing to try to sell. We’ll just see where it goes.”
“In this day and age, you never know what someone might be willing to pay,” Fox added.
The car, which under normal circumstances is worth an estimated $11,000 (£8,500), soared to over £102,800 in the bidding process before being taken off the website.
Hernandez’s death on April 19 — the same day his former teammates celebrated their Super Bowl win at the White House — stunned loved ones, who insisted he couldn’t have taken his own life.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to reject a request by attorneys for Hernandez to dismiss his murder conviction.
In court documents filed Monday, prosecutors argue that dismissing the conviction would reward Hernandez for his “conscious, deliberate and voluntary act” of suicide.
Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder in Lloyd’s 2013 killing.
Last week, his lawyers asked that his murder conviction be vacated under case-law in Massachusetts that has held that when a defendant dies before an appeal is decided, the conviction is vacated.
Hernandez’s appeal hadn’t been heard yet when he killed himself.
More morbid memorabilia frenzies
Hernandez’s car frenzy on eBay was far from the first time bizarre pieces of history have caused a ruckus.
An Alfa Romeo which once belonged to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini sold for £1.43 million in an auction in 2015.
The car was used as a getaway vehicle as Mussolini and his lover Clara Petacci escaped Italy in WWII.
In 2010, the coffin of Lee Harvey Oswald — the man accused of assassinating JFK — was sold in a package including his death certificate and table used for his burial for £57,000 pounds.
The bizarre obsession with the JFK assassination didn’t end there, though.
Another obsessed bidder hellbent on “owning a piece of history” took home the ambulance the former President was transported in after being shot while in a motorcade.
The 1963 Bonneville wagon sold for £80,000 pounds when it went on sale in 2011.