Aaron Hernandez arrested at his home in North Attleboro, June 26, 2013. (Photo courtesy: Boston Globe-George Rizer)
SHIRLEY (CBS) – Former New England Patriot and convicted killer Aaron Hernandez killed himself in prison overnight, authorities said Wednesday morning.
Here is the message sent out by Christopher Fallon, the Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Communications of the Massachusetts Department of Correction:
On April 19, 2017 Aaron Hernandez was discovered hanged in his cell by corrections officers at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley Massachusetts at approximately 3:05 a.m., lifesaving techniques were attempted on Mr. Hernandez and he was transported to UMASS Leominster where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. by a physician at the hospital.
Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing unit. Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window.
Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items. The Massachusetts State Police are on scene and the investigation continues. Mr. Hernandez’s next of kin have been notified.
Aaron Hernandez reacts to the not guilty verdict in his double murder trial on April 14, 2017. (WBZ-TV)
Fallon later told WBZ-TV’s Anna Meiler that Hernandez was not on a suicide watch because there was no indication he wanted to harm himself. Corrections officers found him when they were doing a regular hourly round in the unit.
There are no reports of a suicide note, Fallon said, adding that investigators are going through everything in his cell.
Hernandez’s body has been turned over to the state medical examiner’s office in Boston where an autopsy “will determine the cause and manner of death,” according to a statement from Worcester District Attorney Joe Early Jr.
WBZ-TV Chief Investigative reporter Cheryl Fiandaca said investigators will be looking into the time Hernandez entered his cell, the last time guards checked on him, and if there were any incidents leading up to his death.
Aaron Hernandez cried when the verdicts were read April 14, 2017. (WBZ-TV)
Just last Friday, Hernandez broke down in tears in court as he was acquitted of murder charges in the shooting deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in the South End in July 2012.
Hernandez, 27, was serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd in June 2013.
Veteran defense attorney Randy Chapman told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 that Hernandez’s suicide may cause the murder conviction to be thrown out.
“That will likely be vacated because the conviction was not final, meaning that the state’s Supreme Court had not reviewed it for whether or not there were any errors during the course of the trial,” said Chapman.
The Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley. (WBZ-TV)
Hernandez leaves behind his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez and their 4-year-old daughter Avielle.
He grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, became a standout tight end at the University of Florida and was drafted by the Patriots in 2010.
Tim Tebow and Aaron Hernandez during their days at Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
He quickly became a star and the Patriots signed him to a five-year contract extension in August 2012, just a month after de Abreu and Furtado were murdered.
Aaron Hernandez. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
In June 2013 he was charged with shooting Lloyd to death, a short distance from his home in North Attleboro and the Patriots released him.
Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder in April 2015.
n an interview last Thursday, Patriots coach Bill Belichick called the Hernandez story a “tragedy” and “heartbreaking.”
In
this 2012 photo, Bill Belichick and Aaron Hernandez chat at the
beginning of a Patriots practice at Gillette. (Photo credit: Boston
Herald)
The Super Bowl champion Patriots are visiting the White House Wednesday, where they will meet with President Trump.
The Patriots declined to comment on Hernandez’s suicide Wednesday.
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