Aaron Hernandez,
the UF grad and former star tight end with the New England Patriots who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2015, kills himself in prison. A look at his life in both college and pro sports.
HARTFORD, Conn. — Aaron Hernandez was among the the most celebrated high school athletes in Connecticut history when he left the state for the University of Florida in January 2007.
The record-setting football player at Bristol Central High would thrive for the one of the top college football programs before joining the New England Patriots. Hernandez would play in a Super Bowl, earn a Pro Bowl selection and sign a $40 million contract extension before the start of his third NFL season.
And he was two months shy of his 23rd birthday.
Early Wednesday morning, Hernandez was found dead in his dead in his jail cell after apparently hanging himself with a bedsheet. Hernandez, serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder, was 27.
In 2015, Hernandez was convicted in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiancee’s sister. He was acquitted Friday in a 2012 double slaying that prosecutors alleged was sparked by nightclub altercation over a spilled drink.
On the day he was found dead, Hernandez’s former team was honored at the White House after winning the Super Bowl. Hernandez, once considered a core player for the Patriots, was released by the team immediately after he was arrested in June 2013. A Patriots spokesman said the team would not comment on the death of their former player, and no mention of him was made at the White House.
Hernandez was found by corrections officers at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday, the state Department of Corrections said. The guards attempted lifesaving techniques, and sent him to UMass Memorial — HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, Mass. He was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m.
Hernandez had been in a single cell in a general population housing unit, the corrections department said. He used a bedsheet that he attached to his cell window. He also tried to block the entrance to the cell by jamming the door with various items, a corrections statement said.
A prison spokesman said he was not aware of any suicide note. Christopher Fallon, assistant deputy commissioner of communications, also said officials had no indications that Hernandez was planning on taking his own life. Had there been concern about his well-being, he would have been transferred to a mental-health unit, he said.
In a statement, Hernandez’s lawyer called for an investigation. “The family and legal team is shocked and surprised at the news of Aaron’s death,” attorney Jose Baez said. “There were no conversations or correspondences from Aaron to his family or legal team that would have indicated anything like this was possible.
“Those who love and care about him are heartbroken and determined to find the truth surrounding his untimely death. We request that authorities conduct a transparent and thorough investigation,” Baez said.
Baez said his law firm will conduct its own examination of Hernandez’s death. Sports agent Brian Murphy, who represented Hernandez, tweeted Wednesday morning: “Absolutely no chance he took his own life. Chico was not a saint, but my family and I loved him and he would never take his own life.”
At the Lake Avenue home in Bristol owned by Hernandez’s uncle, several people stood talking with each other in the backyard Wednesday morning. None would talk with the press.
Later Wednesday, Hernandez’s mother Terri refused to speak to reporters when approached outside her home. Hernandez grew up in Bristol and graduated a semester early from Bristol Central High School in December 2006, departing for Florida a month later. He was one of the most coveted high school players in the country.
In the summer of 2005, with two years left in his high school football career, he gave an oral commitment to UConn football coach Randy Edsall. But he decided to instead attend Florida, where he was a first-team All American. He played football for Florida during the 2007-2009 seasons.
Hernandez’s father, Dennis — who played football at UConn in the 1970s — died at age 49 in January 2006 from complications of hernia surgery, a shocking and sad development in the lives of both Aaron and older brother Jonathan, who was formerly known as D.J. Jonathan Hernandez played at UConn and is now football coach at Ledyard High.
As a freshman in 2007, Hernandez appeared in 13 games for Florida and had nine receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns. As a sophomore, he started 11 of 13 games and had 34 receptions for 381 yards and five TDs. In the BCS championship game against Oklahoma, Hernandez led Florida with 57 yards on five receptions as the Gators won.