Aaron Hernandez Commits Suicide in Prison
Photo via AP
Former New England Patriots tight-end Aaron Hernandez, who had been serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, committed suicide in prison Wednesday morning, the Department of Correction said. He was 27.
Hernandez was found hanging in his cell at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley around 3:05 a.m. He was pronounced dead an hour later at UMass Memorial in Leominster.
“Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population unit,” the statement said. “Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bedsheet 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.”
State Police are investigating, and his family has been notified.
Hernandez’s suicide comes five days after he was found not guilty on two counts of murder in the 2012 drive-by shooting of two men outside a Boston nightclub. He was still serving a life sentence without parole for murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd, his fiance’s sister’s boyfriend, in North Attleborough. In an email to the Boston Globe, a Patriots spokesman said, ““We are aware of the reports, but I don’t anticipate that we will be commenting today.”
