A medical examiner ruled on Thursday that former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez committed suicide on Wednesday. On Friday, a judge ordered authorities to preserve various forms of evidence related to Hernandez’s death.
Via the Associated Press, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez (who was not married to Hernandez but nevertheless took his name) asked for the preservation of video recordings from Hernandez’s cell for eight hours prior to his death, records relating to his whereabouts during that same time, and all of his property, including any writings. Three notes were found in his cell.
The judge also ordered that recordings of Hernandez’s phone calls for 30 days prior to his death be preserved. The judge declined to order the preservation of calls made by other inmates.
The request to preserve evidence relates directly to the desire of Hernandez’s family and lawyers to conduct an independent investigation regarding his death. Beyond the question of whether he actually committed suicide, it’s fair to explore whether he exhibited sufficient evidence of suicidal thoughts to prompt the authorities to prevent Hernandez from doing harm to himself.