Prison officials say he was found hanged in his cell early Wednesday in a high-security prison in MA. It's not clear what they may have discussed.
Guards found Hernandez shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday at the state prison in Shirley, Correction Department spokesman Christopher Fallon said.
The Massachusetts maximum security prison where Aaron Hernandez apparently hanged himself has seen its share of troubles since it opened almost two decades ago.
The question of why Hernandez would end his own life might go unanswered. State police spokesman Dave Procopio also cited the "active" investigation in not releasing more information.
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The Worcester County district attorney's office and the Correction Department were investigating, and Massachusetts' chief medical examiner was conducting an autopsy.
The Faggas Funeral Home in Watertown, Massachusetts, confirmed to the AP that it received the body but that funeral services will likely be held elsewhere for the CT native.
Defense attorney Jose Baez on Thursday accused the state medical examiner of improperly withholding the brain of Aaron Hernandez from family members who want it studied to see if the former National Football League star suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy. But he was already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his conviction in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating his fiancee's sister.
The 27-year-old former tight end hanged himself with a bedsheet attached to a window in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts.
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Only half of the New England Patriot's 68 players showed up to a ceremonial speech in their honor at the White House today. Two players were brought to speak to reporters after the White House ceremony, but both said they had not known Hernandez.
The former Patriots tight end, who had been serving a life sentence for a 2013 killing of Odin Loyd, was acquitted Friday in a 2012 double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in a drive-by shooting after a nightclub scuffle in Boston on July 16, 2012, making his sudden passing even more shocking.
Hernandez's death came hours before his former teammates visited the White House to celebrate their historic Super Bowl victory.
'The family and legal team is shocked and surprised at the news of Aaron's death, ' Baez said in a statement obtained by DailyMail.com.
Baez said he was also concerned about other irregularities that emerged during the recent double-murder trial that ended with Hernandez's acquittal.
"Aaron was looking forward to an opportunity for a second chance to prove his innocence" in an appeal of the 2013 verdict, Baez said. He says Hernandez's loved ones are "heartbroken and determined to find the truth surrounding his untimely death". The family wanted to bring the brain to Boston University for further study, Baez said, and he is concerned that the findings could be compromised by the delay.
The AP left phone messages for and sent emails to Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez and her lawyer.
Friends also were grieving in CT, where Hernandez was raised. "That was a positive thing in our minds", said Alex Cugno, who grew up with Hernandez in Bristol. "I don't believe that he would have killed himself. It just doesn't add up".
But he was concussed in 2007 after a hit to the head while playing for his CT high school, Bristol Central, Sports Illustrated reported before his trial for Lloyd's murder.
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