Details Spill Out About Aaron Hernandez From Former Teammates

The Patriots dropped their young star after his arrest, but the nation was captivated by what unfolded. Hernandez was found guilty in Lloyd's murder case and acquitted in the other, but was still handed a mandatory life sentence. The story, says CBS News, didn't end when Hernandez was taken to prison. On April 19, 2017 — just over two years after his sentencing — he died by suicide in his cell. Shortly after, The Washington Post reported that an autopsy revealed that he had been suffering from the advanced stages of traumatic brain injury likely caused by repeat hits in football. So, did his teammates see anything amiss? What did they have to say?

From 2010 to 2012, Aaron Hernandez played for the New England Patriots as a tight end (via People). During his brief but impressive career, the Bleacher Report writes that Hernandez made 18 touchdowns and 175 receptions earning 1,956 yards for his team. With the help of famed quarterback and fellow teammate Tom Brady, Biography states that his efforts led the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI. Needless to say, it appeared that Hernandez was destined for NFL superstardom. However, the football player's life took a tragic turn in 2013. That year, Hernandez was arrested for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd. Per The New York Times, he was eventually convicted of this crime, and Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Hernandez was initially charged with one count of first-degree murder. However, later that same month, he was indicted on two more charges of first-degree murder for the 2012 deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado — who were killed in a drive-by shooting in Boston, Massachusetts. He was also facing a civil lawsuit in the 2013 shooting of Alexander Bradley, which occurred in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Sporting News reports Hernandez's first-degree murder conviction was vacated in May 2017. However, the decision was overturned, and the conviction was reinstated in March 2019. In addition, Hernandez's story was thrust back into the spotlight with a 2020 Netflix documentary series, "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez." Although the series exposed a number of previously unknown facts about the former football star's life and crimes, there are several relevant topics that were not thoroughly explored.