April 22, 2017
Aaron Hernandez's Fear of Being Outed May Have Motivated Murder: Sources
In a bombshell report, Newsweek explores the prison suicide of fallen NFL star Aaron Hernandez, suggesting that the murder for which he was convicted may have been committed to keep secret his sexual relationships with men.
Right before he was indicted for murder, authorities say Hernandez placed large amounts of money into accounts for his fiancée, their daughter, and a man alleged to have been his male partner from high school on.
When 27-year-old Hernandez hanged himself in his prison cell April 19 — where he was serving life without the possibility of parole for the murder of his fianceé's sister's boyfriend, Odin Lloyd — Newsweek reports he left notes to his fiancée, their daughter, and to a man described as a "prison boyfriend."
The man, said to be on suicide watch himself now, is unnamed.
Police sources theorize that Hernandez was in fear that his gay or bisexual orientation could be exposed by Lloyd, who Hernandez's co-defendant Ernest Wallace said had referred to Hernandez using a gay slur. Hernandez was long rumored to be gay.
The shocking report also delves into the late athlete's gang history, his propensity for violence, what one witness claims really happened the night of the double murder for which Hernandez was ultimately acquitted, and his drug use, including a claim that he may have been smoking synthetic marijuana the night he took his own life.
People magazine reports Hernandez's death has now officially been ruled a suicide. Under Massachusetts law, his murder conviction is now voided because he had not exhausted all of his appeals at the time of his passing.