Few days after being acquitted of a second double-murder charge, the New England Patriots football former star, Aaron Hernandez, hanged himself in jail cell where he was serving a life sentence for murder, state prison officials said on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old Hernandez, was a rising star in the National Football League (NFL) when he was arrested in June 2013 and accused of murdering an acquaintance near his Massachusetts home.
He was convicted of that killing and sentenced to life in prison in 2015 but on Friday found not guilty of another 2012 double murder.
Staff at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts, found Hernandez hanging in his prison cell at 3:05 a.m. EDT (0705 GMT) and he was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. EDT (0807 GMT).
“Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet 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.” the state corrections commission said in a statement.
