What Happened to Aaron Hernandez? Who is Aaron Hernandez?

The FX series 'American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez' explores the life of the former NFL star, highlighting his troubled childhood, diagnosis of CTE, and tragic downfall. Aaron Hernandez is dead now.

by V Gomala

Updated Sep 21, 2024

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What Happened to Aaron Hernandez? Who is Aaron Hernandez?

What Happened to Aaron Hernandez?

Aaron Hernandez was a star tight end for the New England Patriots. However, his success in sports was overshadowed by problems that started in his childhood.

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The new FX series "American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez," created by Ryan Murphy, explores his life and how he ended up in prison for murder before taking his own life in 2017.

The series is based on a podcast from The Boston Globe that looks into Hernandez's life and death, including his diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the trauma he faced as a child. Experts suggest that his difficult upbringing and CTE may have influenced his behavior.

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Who is Aaron Hernandez?

Aaron Hernandez was an American football player who played as a tight end in the NFL. He spent three seasons with the New England Patriots before he was arrested and convicted for the murder of Odin Lloyd. he died on April 19, 2017.

Name Aaron Hernandez 
Born November 6, 1989
Birthplace Bristol, Connecticut, U.S.
Died April 19, 2017 (aged 27)
Death Place Leominster, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight 250 lb (113 kg)

Why did Aaron Hernandez Go to Jail?

Aaron Hernandez was arrested and charged in the 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd, a semipro football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée.

In 2015, he was found guilty of first-degree murder for shooting Lloyd in an empty industrial park and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors said Hernandez was angry with Lloyd at a nightclub two nights before the shooting. They showed video of him holding what looked like a gun at home, and a marijuana joint found near Lloyd had DNA from both men on it.

Hernandez's defense team argued that he was present when Lloyd was killed, but that two of his friends did the shooting. He was also charged with the murder of two men in a 2012 drive-by shooting in Boston but was found not guilty in 2017, just days before he died.

After his death, a Massachusetts judge threw out his murder conviction. According to a state rule, if a defendant dies while appealing a conviction, the case is dismissed. Hernandez was in the process of appealing when he died in prison.

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Aaron Hernandez Cause of Death

While serving his life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd, Aaron Hernandez faced more legal issues. He was charged in a separate case for a double homicide in Boston that happened in 2012. Prosecutors said Hernandez shot and killed Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado after an encounter at a nightclub. The trial for this case began in March 2017, and on April 14, 2017, Hernandez was found not guilty.

Unfortunately, his moment of freedom was short. Aaron Hernandez was found dead on April 19, 2017, in his prison cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center. The cause of death was ruled a suicide by hanging.

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