More details about the final days of Aaron Hernandez’s life continue to emerge.
The former New England Patriots tight end, who was serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, committed suicide Wednesday. Hernandez reportedly hanged himself from his prison cell window using his bed sheet.
The Boston Herald’s Ron Borges wrote a piece for Rolling Stone and reported that Hernandez seemed to be a different man during his final days.
“According to several sources, Hernandez had begun to read more,” Borges wrote. ” (Bristol County Sheriff Thomas) Hodgson reportedly encouraged this habit, suggesting he begin with a book of life lessons, ‘Tuesdays With Morrie.’ Hernandez talked with friends about it and allegedly his old college teammate, Mike Pouncey, who stayed in touch with him, told Hernandez he read it on his recommendation.”
Following Hernandez’s acquittal for the 2012 double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, Borges reports, the 27-year-old began to let down his guard and engage more with those around him.
Wrote Borges: “In his last days, court sources claim, Hernandez was more engaging with guards, court officers and his legal team. He joked with one clerk about his need for a haircut even though he was bald and reportedly had given away to other inmates many of his possessions.
“Back at Souza-Baranowski, he spent his final hours outside his cell socializing with gang members, having started a fitness program for some of them and joining in pickup basketball games.”
Reports have circulated alleging Hernandez’s secret sex life might have been a factor in Lloyd’s murder. According to Borges, however, that allegation is something Hernandez reportedly denied even during his final days.
“After his death, a long-held rumor went viral alleging Lloyd had caught him in a ‘compromising position’ with another man and was killed for fear he would out Hernandez,” Borges wrote. “This was an unpublished rumor among investigators and some long-time court reporters, and one that Hernandez allegedly denied to a jailhouse confidant several days before his death.”
Officials ruled Hernandez’s death a suicide Friday.
The former Patriot will be laid to rest in a private funeral Monday in Bristol, Conn.
Thumbnail photo via The Sun Chronicle/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports Images
