BOSTON — A judge has ruled that jurors in the double murder trial of former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez can consider tattoos that prosecutors contend amount to an admission of guilt.
Judge Jeffrey Locke on Tuesday denied a defense request to exclude his tattoos as evidence.
Prosecutors say Hernandez got two tattoos added in 2013. One shows a six-shot revolver with five bullets in the cylinder and one empty chamber. The other shows a semi-automatic pistol and a wisp of smoke coming from a spent shell casing.
Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the 2012 killings of two men he encountered in a Boston nightclub. His trial is scheduled to begin next month.
He is already serving a life sentence in the 2013 killing of a semi-professional football player.
