Aaron Hernandez’s shock murder conviction famously became the subject of a hit Netflix documentary series.
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The 2020 true crime show, titled Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, showed the incredible fall from grace of the American footballer star.
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What is the true story behind the Aaron Hernandez documentary?
The sportsman was 24 years old and playing for the New England Patriots - having appeared in the Super Bowl - when he was arrested for the 2013 murder of his friend Odin Lloyd. The 27-year-old - who had been dating the sister of Aaron’s fiancée - had been shot dead, with his body found one mile from the player’s Connecticut home. He was sentenced in 2015 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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In the three-part documentary series, the creators explored several factors in Aaron’s life that may have led to him becoming a killer despite his successes on the field, including that he may have been struggling with PTSD after being raised by an abusive alcoholic father. They also looked into the theory that he may have been suffering from a neurodegenerative disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is common in athletes playing sports where there are repeated concussions to the head.
The sports star was convicted of murder in 2015
Where is Aaron Hernandez now?
After his conviction, Aaron was also investigated over the double 2012 murders of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado - however, he was acquitted of the homicides in 2017. Around this time it was publicly claimed that he was homosexual - a subject also touched upon in the docuseries - on a radio sports talk show.
Just two days later, the former star player was found to have taken his own life in his prison cell at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Massachusetts. The autopsy of the 28-year-old - who left behind a young daughter, Avielle, born in 2012 - confirmed that he had been suffering from a "severe" case of degenerative brain disease.
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