Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez has committed suicide in prison, according to multiple reports.
WCVB reports the ex-New England Patriots tight end, who was serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder, was discovered hanging in his cell by prison staff at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley early Wednesday morning. Attempts to revive him were not successful and he was taken to UMass Leominster hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m.
"Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population unit," the Massachusetts Department of Corrections said in a statement. "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."
His family has been notified of his death, according to the Boston Globe. State Police are investigating the incident.
Hernandez, 27, was serving a life sentence for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
He was acquitted last week in a 2012 double murder that allegedly began over a spilled drink. He was convicted of a single charge, unlawful possession of a gun, and sentenced to an additional four to five years in prison, separate from his existing life sentence.
Relatives of the victims, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, sobbed in court as the verdict was read.
Hernandez grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, and played for the Patriots from 2010 to 2012 after three seasons with the Florida Gators. About six weeks after Furtado and de Abreu were killed, Hernandez signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Patriots and went on to play another season before Lloyd was killed.
He was cut from the team shortly after he was arrested in Lloyd's death in June 2013. He was not charged in the 2012 killings until 2014.