Tight-lipped law enforcement officials in Massachusetts refused to comment on conflicting reports late Friday about the possible imminent arrest of one of the NFL’s top young stars in connection with the murder of an amateur football player whose body was found earlier this week near his home.
State police went to the North Attleboro home of Aaron Hernandez, a 23-year-old New England Patriots tight end, on Friday. They were let inside, but then left moments later. That development came as multiple media outlets reported that an arrest warrant had been – or would be – issued for Hernandez in connection with the death of Odin Lloyd, 27, of Dorchester. Lloyd’s body was found Monday in an industrial park near Hernandez’s home, with at least one gunshot to the head, according to reports.
The Bristol County District Attorney's Office and North Attleboro Police Department would not say Friday whether Hernandez had been arrested or whether he had been questioned in the case.
"This office has not commented on the reports circulating today," Yasmina Serdarevic, a spokeswoman for the Bristol County DA, said in a statement to FoxNews.com. "This is still an ongoing investigation and we will not comment on the substance of the investigation."
The whereabouts of Hernandez, one of Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite targets, have been unknown to the public since he was seen driving home from the team’s practice facility on Thursday.
Several local media outlets reported that Hernandez was interviewed by authorities investigating the murder of an amateur football player, whose body was found not far from Hernandez's home.
Early Friday, a CBS affiliate reported that a warrant had been issued and Hernandez would be charged with obstruction of justice. The Boston Globe reported Friday that police have surveillance videos that show Hernandez with Lloyd on the morning police say Lloyd was killed.
ABC News cited sources with knowledge of the investigation saying Hernandez destroyed his cell phone and surveillance videos from the cameras at his home, and that his home was cleaned hours after Odin was killed.
Hernandez, who played college ball at University of Florida and was a fourth-round draft choice in 2010, recently signed a five-year, $40 million contract. He is also being sued in South Florida by a man who claims Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club.
Media camped out Thursday at Hernandez's lavish home on the Rhode Island state line after a news helicopter followed him driving home from the team facility in a white SUV.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James said the team had no comment on why Hernandez was at the team’s facility. He said the team would have no comment during the police investigation.
On Thursday, a Massachusetts State Police emergency response team searched the brush along a road leading into the subdivision where Hernandez lives with metal detectors.
Bristol District Attorney Samuel Sutter's office said investigators were asking for the public's help to find a silver mirror cover believed to have broken off a car between Boston and North Attleboro.
Hernandez attorney Michael Fee acknowledged media reports about the state police search of Hernandez's home as part of an investigation but said he and the player wouldn't have any comment on it.
Fox News' Cristina Corbin, Molly Line and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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