(Associated Press)  -  A state judge in Massachusetts has denied a request to toss out a murder indictment against a friend of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez.

Lawyers for Ernest Wallace had wanted the court to dismiss the indictment, citing lack of probable cause and impairment of the integrity of the grand jury proceedings. But Judge Susan Garsh denied that motion Monday.

Hernandez, Wallace and Carlos Ortiz, all originally from Bristol, Connecticut, were charged in the murder of semiprofessional football player Odin Lloyd in June 2013.

Hernandez is currently appealing a life sentence for the killing. Lloyd's body was found in an industrial park near Hernandez's home in North Attleborough, Massachusetts, near the Rhode Island border.

Hernandez also stands accused of killing two men outside a Boston nightclub in 2012.

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