New legal team granted for ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez

July 22, 2016 12:00 am • Last Updated: July 22, 2016 12:17 am

In this Dec. 22, 2015, file photo, former New England Patriots NFL football player Aaron Hernandez attends a pre-trial hearing at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. Hernandez is expected to appear in court Thursday, July 21, 2016, with new lawyers to defend him in the 2012 slayings of two men outside a Boston nightclub. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, Pool, File)

PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez has a new legal team to defend him in the 2012 slayings of two men outside a Boston nightclub.

A judge Thursday allowed Hernandez's previous attorneys to withdraw and transfer the case to new attorneys. His new team includes Florida attorney Jose Baez, who successfully defended Casey Anthony in her 2011 trial in the death of her daughter.

Hernandez already is serving a life sentence in the 2013 killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. He also is accused of gunning down Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado after one of the men accidentally spilled a drink on him. He has pleaded not guilty.

He was indicted in Suffolk County, but the hearing was in Plymouth County, where Judge Jeffrey Locke is assigned.

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