The nation watched attentively Wednesday morning as the jury decreed that former New England Patriots football star Aaron Hernandez was guilty of murder in the first degree. Minutes before the verdict was read, the victim's mother declared that she forgives the murderer, and afterward said that without God "We are nothing."

Odin Lloyd's closest family members sat in court day after day as each side presented their case, but on the day Hernandez was found guilty, Ursula Ward, mother of the victim, gracefully addressed the court and maintained that she is practicing forgiveness instead of hate for her son's killer and those involved.

"I forgive the people that had a hand in my son's murder. Either before or after and I pray that some day everyone out there will forgive them also," she emotionally said, "May God continue to bless us."

Hernandez, already facing charges of double homicide for another case was convicted of the murder of Lloyd at the Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts. The 25 year-old former tight end for the New England Patriots, was charged for fatally shooting semiprofessional football player Lloyd in an industrial park near Hernandez's Massachusetts home in June 2013.

Shortly after the guilty verdict Ward addressed reporters outside the courtroom covered in tears.

"Just like God has left his footprint in the sand, my baby foot print is in my heart forever," she said, "He was my strength I love him dearly. We serve an awesome God and we all should remember that because without him we are nothing.

See touching statement below:

Remember to keep both families in prayer as they navigate through this tragedy. After an evaluation CNN reported that Hernandez would be shipped to Massachusetts' flagship maximum-security prison, the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, about 40 miles outside downtown Boston.