Odin Lloyd's mother, Ursula Ward, will continue to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez after his death by suicide Wednesday morning, according to TMZ Sports. 

A 2015 report from TMZ stated Ward sought millions of dollars from Hernandez after he was convicted of killing her son and sentenced to life in prison without parole. 

According to Sports Illustrated's Michael McCann, the path to winning a civil suit against Hernandez is now more difficult for Ward because Massachusetts recognizes "abatement ab initio." 

That means "Hernandez's convictions for murder and three other charges are technically void" because he "died before he exhausted his appeals."     

McCann added the following regarding the civil proceedings moving forward: "Normally those lawsuits continue, with Hernandez's estate replacing him as the defendant. Although the legal burden for proving civil liability is only preponderance of evidence (more probable than not), the nullifying of Hernandez's convictions through 'abatement ab initio' presents an unexpected challenge for attorneys representing the families."