If prosecutors plan to argue former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez was the one who fired seven rounds into Odin Lloyd , they wo n't be able to show the alleged murder weapon to make their case . That 's because the .45 caliber gun used to kill Lloyd has never been found . `` That 's a hurdle , '' attorney and sports analyst Michael McCann told CNN . Prosecutors have charged Hernandez , Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz with first-degree murder , however , more than a year since the June 17 , 2013 , homicide , prosecutors have yet to definitively say who was the alleged trigger man . All three men have pleaded not guilty . Despite extensive searches of Hernandez 's home , his apartment , his cars , an uncle 's home , the crime scene , woods , dumpsters , and a lake in Hernandez 's hometown of Bristol , Connecticut , what happened to the alleged murder weapon remains a mystery . Inside the case against Aaron Hernandez . `` To be sure , someone can be convicted without a murder weapon , '' McCann said . `` We know that . But it 's harder . '' Authorities said in court that they recovered five rounds from Lloyd 's body . An autopsy revealed two more rounds went through his body . Those rounds were later dug up from the soil in the industrial park where Lloyd was shot . A shell casing was also found in the rental car that prosecutors say Hernandez drove to the crime scene . All the rounds are .45 caliber , according to authorities . Who was Odin Lloyd ? Surveillance video from Hernandez 's home security system shows the former NFL player arriving back at his house with two other people , according to the district attorney . Prosecutors believe the gun seen in Hernandez 's left hand is the alleged murder weapon , according to a source with knowledge of the investigation . `` He 's last seen with the firearm before he goes down to the basement door , '' Bristol County District Attorney William McCauley told a judge at a June 16 hearing . Two witnesses have testified before a grand jury that Hernandez kept a .45 gun in a black metal box in his basement , McCauley told the court . Fast facts : Aaron Hernandez . The day after Lloyd 's body was found , Hernandez sent a mysterious `` coded '' text message to his fiancée Shayanna Jenkins and asked her get something out of their basement , according to search warrant affidavits . `` Go back in back of the screen in movie room when u ( sic ) get home an ( sic ) there is a box ... jus ( sic ) in case u ( sic ) were looking for it ! ! ! ... WAS JUST THINKIN bout that lol wink wink love u TTYL ... .K '' `` TTYL '' is common shorthand for `` talk to you later . '' 2013 : Investigation turns to fiancée . A home surveillance video shows Jenkins leaving the house about an hour later and carrying something `` rigid '' and `` consistent to a lock box or safe '' placed inside a garbage bag and covered with children 's clothing , according to the documents . Jenkins later testified before a grand jury . According to prosecutor McCauley , `` She said it was a box ... and it was heavy , it was approximately 25 pounds . '' On video , Jenkins is allegedly seen returning home without the `` rigid '' item . Prosecutors said Jenkins testified she got rid of the box . `` It goes into the dumpster , '' McCauley told a judge . `` Later on when she 's questioned about that , she ca n't recall where she put that . That item or items were never recovered . '' Jenkins has been charged with perjury and has pleaded not guilty . Her attorneys have said they will not comment on her case . In pre-trial hearings , Hernandez 's lawyers have argued prosecutors have no evidence as to what was in the box . `` I mean , who knows ? '' co-counsel James Sultan told the court . `` It could be drugs , it could be something that was connected to this crime that he knew about , that he was covering up for somebody else after the fact . There are all kinds of possibilities ... But that 's not probable cause that he committed murder . '' Authorities did seize other guns from the former tight end 's home and apartment , as well as .45 caliber ammunition . Hernandez also has pleaded not guilty to five other weapons-related charges . Unlike the missing weapon in the Lloyd case , police have found a .38 caliber gun they accuse Hernandez of using to kill Safiro Furtado and Daniel Abreu in Boston in July 2012 . Police have not established a connection between the gun and Hernandez . Hernandez is charged as the sole shooter in that case and has pleaded not guilty . Can prosecutors persuade a jury in the Lloyd case that they do n't need to see the weapon involved ? `` Given the large number of TV shows devoted to crime ... jurors are always receptive to the popular defense argument that 'missing evidence ' creates reasonable doubt in prosecutor 's case , '' said CNN analyst and former New York prosecutor Paul Callan . Yet , Callan added , authorities can argue there was plenty of time to ditch the weapon . `` After all we still have n't found Jimmy Hoffa , so explaining away a missing gun is not particularly difficult if other evidence is compelling and persuasive , '' he said .
Aaron Hernandez has been charged with three killings . He has pleaded not guilty . The weapon used in the murder of David Lloyd has not been found .