Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his jail cell on Wednesday, April 19, according to the Massachusetts Department of Corrections. He was 27. Find out more in the video above, and detailed below.
“On April 19, 2017, Aaron Hernandez was discovered hanging in his cell by corrections officers at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley Massachusetts at approximately 3:05 a.m.,” the DOC said in a statement. “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.”
Hernandez’s family was notified and the incident is still under investigation.
Hernandez was arrested in connection to the death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in June 2013 and convicted of first-degree murder in 2015. Hernandez was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Last Friday, in a separate case, the Bristol, Connecticut, native was found not guilty of the double murder of two men in Boston in 2012. In court, prosecutors alleged to the jury that Hernandez gunned down Safiro Furtado and Daniel de Abreu after he became furious over a spilled drink at a nightclub.
Hernandez previously played with the Patriots from 2010 to 2012.
