Odin Lloyd’s mother: Son was family’s backbone

The mother of Odin Lloyd — the man Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of murdering Wednesday — told the court her son was the “backbone of the family.”

“Odin was the man of the house,” Ursula Ward said of her only son and eldest child. “Odin was his sisters’ keeper.”

Ward read the victim impact statement from inside the Fall River courtroom after the verdict and sentencing were announced. She said she thanks God “every second and every day” for the time she got to spend with her son.

Her voice filled with emotion, Ward said, “the day I laid my son, Odin, to rest, I felt my heart stop beating. I felt like I wanted to go into that hole with my son, Odin.”

She told the court she will never get to dance at Odin’s wedding. She told the court she will never hear him ask her what she was cooking.

Ward said she forgave the people “who had a hand in my son’s murder.”

“I know I’m going to see him someday and that has given the strength to go on.”

“May God continue to bless us,” she concluded. “Thank you.”