Aaron Hernandez facing civil complaint

Mother of alleged victim files wrongful death lawsuit

Odin Lloyd endured “pain and suffering prior to his death,” the complaint filed by his mother states.AP file

The mother of a Dorchester man whom Aaron Hernandez is accused of killing in June has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the former New England Patriots player.

In her civil complaint, Ursula Ward says that Hernandez "individually or jointly with others" fatally shot her son Odin Lloyd, 27. His body was found near Hernandez's sprawling North Attleborough home on June 17.

Ward's complaint, filed Monday in Bristol Superior Court, also names the Patriots as a defendant. However, she does not allege that the team bears any responsibility for Lloyd's death.

Instead, the lawsuit seeks to block the team from paying more than $3.25 million to Hernandez that the NFL Players Association, his former union, contends he is owed by the franchise.

Lloyd's mother argues that the money, which is the subject of a pending NFLPA grievance, could instead be awarded to her son's estate as part of the lawsuit. Spokesmen for the Patriots and the union declined to comment.

Attempts to reach Ward and her lawyer were unsuccessful on Tuesday.

Hernandez, 24, has pleaded not guilty to murder and weapons charges in the separate criminal case and is being held without bail. Two men who were allegedly with Hernandez when Lloyd was shot have been charged as accessories and have pleaded not guilty.

"The wrongful acts of Hernandez . . . caused Odin Lloyd to endure substantial conscious pain and suffering prior to his death," Ward's complaint states.

A lawyer for Hernandez did not respond to inquiries Tuesday, and a spokesman for the Bristol district attorney's office declined to comment.

Hernandez also faces a lawsuit in Florida, where Alexander Bradley, a former associate, alleges the athlete shot him in the face in February. Hernandez has declined to respond to the allegations in court papers, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Separately on Tuesday, police confirmed the death of a woman with ties to Hernandez, who is a native of Bristol, Conn.

Tabitha Perry, 27, was found unresponsive Monday inside a Southington, Conn., home, and a police spokesman said in a statement that "no suspicious circumstances [were] found at the time of the investigation."

Perry survived a car crash in June that killed Thaddeus Singleton III, who was married to Hernandez's cousin, Tanya Singleton. Police say Perry and Thaddeus Singleton had a child together.

Tanya Singleton is facing conspiracy and contempt charges in Massachusetts in connection with Lloyd's death. She has pleaded not guilty.

Thaddeus Singleton was killed in a single-car crash on June 30, four days after Hernandez's arrest. The Globe has reported that investigators had planned to question Singleton.

In August, Robert J. Valentine, 49, of Bristol, Conn., Hernandez's uncle, died in a moped crash in that town.

Officials have ruled both crashes accidents.

Thaddeus Singleton lived at 114 Lake Ave. in Bristol, Conn., where police last summer seized a silver Toyota sport utility vehicle that was believed to be linked to a July 2012 double murder in Boston.

Law enforcement officials have told the Globe that Hernandez is being investigated in that case. He has not been charged in that shooting.