Comment on Hearing set for ex-Patriot facing murder trial

FALL RIVER, Mass. — A pre-trial hearing is scheduled Monday for former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez, whose murder trial is slated to start next month. The hearing at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River is expected to focus on jury issues. Jury selection is scheduled to start Jan. 9. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee. Hernandez also has pleaded not guilty in a separate case: The fatal shootings of two men in 2012 after an encounter at a Boston nightclub. Prosecutors preparing for the case involving Lloyd have sought to admit a range of evidence related to Hernandez’s other alleged crimes, including the Boston homicides and unlawful possession of firearms. But Judge E.