Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots star who was convicted of murder in 2015, killed himself in his prison cell Wednesday morning, The Boston Globe is reporting, citing Massachusetts prison officials.
Hernandez was found hanging in his cell by corrections officers around 3:05 a.m. at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center, Massachusetts Department of Correction officials said in a statement.
He was pronounced dead an hour later.
“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, the newspaper reported.
Hernandez’s suicide comes five days after he was acquitted of murdering two men in Boston in 2012. However, he was still serving a life without parole sentence for murdering Odin L. Lloyd in North Attleborough in 2013.
