The families of Aaron Hernandez, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado have taken one more step toward closure.
The former New England Patriots tight end’s estate has settled a wrongful-death lawsuit Abreu’s and Furtado’s families filed against him, The Boston Globe’s Travis Andersen reported Friday, citing a court filing. Suffolk County Superior Court judge Douglas H. Wilkins dismissed the lawsuit Tuesday after the “action was reported settled,” according to the filing. Terms of the settlement are confidential.
Hernandez’s estate lawyer, George Leontire, told the Globe via e-mail “no comment except to say no assets of the estate were used to settle the matters.”
Attorney William T. Kennedy memorialized Furtado via email on behalf of his family.
“What the family of Safiro Furtado will always remember is that Safiro was taken much too soon,” Kennedy wrote in an email. “Safiro had come to this country for the opportunity it presented. He wanted to get an education and make a contribution for himself and his family. Safiro will be remembered as a thoughtful generous young man. His family appreciates those that keep Safiro in their thoughts and prayers.”
The lawyer for Abreu’s widow, Kenneth I. Kolpan, said the settlement “honors the legacy and memory of Daniel de Abreu, my client’s former husband.”
Hernandez was charged with shooting Abreu and Furtado to death in 2012, but a jury found him not guilty of their murders. Hernandez already was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for killing Odin Lloyd when he committed suicide in 2017, just days after his acquittal on charges of killing Abreu and Furtado.
