Less than a week after being acquitted of double murder, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has died. The convicted murderer committed suicide early Wednesday morning, hanging himself in the jail cell at the Souza Baranowski prison in Shirley, Massachusetts.
The suicide was confirmed by prison officals shortly thereafter.
“Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population unit,” a correction departmnet statement read, via the Boston Globe. “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.”
After lifesaving techniques were attempted on Hernandez, he was transported to UMass Leominster, where the former NFL tight end was pronounced dead at 4:07 am.
It was just last week that Hernandez was found not guilty of two counts of murder stemming from a Boston-area incident back in 2012. The former Patriots fourth-round pick was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
Ironically, this comes the same day that the New England Patriots are slated to meet with President Trump to celebrate their most-recent Super Bowl championship.