Did an illicit drug he smoked in prison send him spiraling? Or was his death the byproduct of a head so addled by repeated blows that one medical expert said he had some of the worst brain damage she had seen in a football player?ĭid he suffer from well-concealed depression? Or did the suggestion on a radio talk show, that he was gay, just days before his suicide, push him past the brink? In this 2011 file photo, Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, left, is taken down by a Jets player after a catch and loses his helmet in the process. The questions have fueled speculation about why Hernandez took his own life. His family and friends continue to wrestle with the contradiction of Hernandez’s final days: That a seemingly jubilant man who was planning visits with his daughter and her mother could suddenly kill himself. Hernandez’s suicide on April 19, 2017, left behind more than a cell adorned with biblical references in blood and rambling letters. There is, he added, "light at the end of the tunnel.” One step closer,” Hernandez told a friend, according to a redacted recording of their phone conversation that state prison officials released after a lengthy public records fight. In his last 36 hours, Hernandez in phone calls expressed optimism that he could still successfully appeal that guilty verdict, freeing him from his life-without-parole sentence. Though he was acquitted in the double murder of two men in Boston he seemed to barely know, a jury in 2015 had already convicted him of killing a friend for reasons that were never clear. The 27-year-old was a celebrity inmate: Once a star tight end for the Patriots with a $40 million contract, Hernandez proved also to be a violent killer. (John Blanding/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool) Hernandez was acquitted in the criminal murder trial in 2017, but hanged himself in prison just days later. In newly released recordings of his phone calls, Hernandez was so bullish after his courtroom victory on April 14, 2017, that he entertained speculation about returning to football from his fellow inmates, who he said asked him, “Who you gonna play for?” In this 2016 file photo, former New England Patriots NFL football player Aaron Hernandez listens during a court hearing before his double murder trial in Boston. Editor's Note: This story includes descriptions of suicide.ĭays before his suicide, former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez sounded triumphant in phone calls from prison, buoyed by a recent acquittal in his double murder trial that had him imagining a life outside bars, cleared of all criminal charges.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |