SHIRLEY, Massachusetts, April 19, 2016 (Gephardt Daily & UPI) — Aaron Hernandez, the former star football player for the New England Patriots, previously convicted of murder, has hanged himself in a Massachusetts prison cell.
According to a statement released by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections Wednesday, Hernandez, 27, “was discovered hanged in his cell by corrections officers at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts at approximately 3:05 a.m.”
Personnel attempted to save Hernandez, who was transported to the UMass Memorial HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster where he was declared dead at 4:07 a.m.
“Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population unit,” a statement from the corrections department 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.”
Last week, Hernandez, 27, was acquitted of murdering two men in Boston in 2012. He was serving a separate life sentence without parole for the 2013 killing of Odin L. Lloyd.
Massachusetts State Police have launched an investigation into Hernandez’s death.
Hernandez began playing for the Patriots as a tight end in 2010. He was immediately released in 2013 by the NFL team after he was arrested for Lloyd’s death.
