Judge Rejects Aaron Hernandez Move To Toss Murder Conviction

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FALL RIVER (CBSMiami/AP) – To put it in football terms, the penalty was declined.

A Massachusetts judge who oversaw the trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has rejected a request to throw out his first-degree murder conviction or reduce it to second-degree murder.

Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh turned down a motion for a required finding of not guilty in the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. A jury convicted Hernandez in April. The motion was a procedural step that had to be taken before an appeal.

Garsh says in the decision released Wednesday that prosecutors proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic sentence of life without parole.

Still pending is a separate request from Hernandez's lawyers to investigate an anonymous tip that a juror in the case might have been untruthful during jury selection.

(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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