In death, Hernandez's murder conviction likely to be tossed

FILE - In this Wednesday, April 12, 2017, file photo, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez blows a kiss to his daughter, who sat with her mother, Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, Hernandez's longtime fiancee, during jury deliberations in his double-murder trial at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. Hernandez was acquitted of those crimes on Friday, but hanged himself in his prison early Wednesday, April 19, 2017, where he was serving a life sentence in the 2013 killing of semi-professional football player Odin Lloyd. (Keith Bedford /The Boston Globe via AP, Pool, File) (The Associated Press)

BOSTON – Aaron Hernandez's death means his murder conviction is likely to disappear.

Under Massachusetts law, defense attorneys can seek to have convictions vacated when a defendant dies before an appeal is heard.

Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2013 death of Odin Lloyd.

Authorities say Hernandez was found hanging in his Massachusetts prison cell early Wednesday and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Removing a conviction after the death of a high profile defendant has precedent in the state.

Former Roman Catholic priest John Geoghan's (GAY'-gehnz) child molestation conviction was vacated after he was beaten to death in his prison cell in 2003.

John Salvi, who was convicted of killing two abortion clinic workers in Brookline in 1994, also had his convictions dismissed after he killed himself in prison.