Player who was…
Aaron Josef Hernandez[a] (November 6,
1989 – April 19, 2017) was an American
professional football tight end. He played
three seasons in the National Football
League (NFL) with the New England
Patriots before being arrested and
convicted for Odin Lloyd’s murder.
Hernandez played college football with
the Florida Gators, where he was named
first-team All-American and won the BCS
National Championship in 2008.[4]
Because of concerns about his size and
off-field problems, the Patriots did not
take him until the fourth round of the
2010 NFL draft. Hernandez and
teammate Rob Gronkowski created one
of the league’s most dominant tight end
duos, becoming the first to score at least
five touchdowns in consecutive seasons
for the same team. He also appeared in
Super Bowl XLVI.
During the 2013 offseason, Hernandez
was arrested and charged for the murder
of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional player
who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s
fiancée. Following his arrest, Hernandez
was immediately released by the
Patriots. He was found guilty of first-
degree murder in 2015 and sentenced to
life in prison without the possibility of parole at the Souza-Baranowski
Correctional Center.[5] While on trial for Lloyd’s murder, Hernandez was also
indicted for the 2012 double homicide of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado; he
was acquitted after a 2017 trial.
Days after being acquitted of the double homicide, Hernandez was found dead in
his cell, which was ruled a suicide. His
conviction for Lloyd’s murder was
initially vacated under the doctrine of
abatement ab initio because Hernandez
died during its appeal,[6] but was
reinstated in 2019 following an appeal
from prosecutors and Lloyd’s family.[7]
Hernandez was posthumously diagnosed
with chronic traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE), which has led to speculation over
how the condition may have affected his
behavior.[8]