The news that Aaron Hernandez committed suicide invites questions as to whether those charged with his care and supervision could have prevented it. Hernandez’s lawyer has raised a question that could have a much more sinister answer.
“The family and legal team is shocked and surprised at the news of Aaron’s death,” Jose Baez said in a statement, via the Boston Herald. “There were no conversations or correspondence from Aaron to his family or legal team that would have indicated anything like this was possible. Aaron was looking forward to an opportunity for a second chance to prove his innocence. Those who love and care about him are heartbroken and determined to find the truth surrounding his untimely death. We request that authorities conduct a transparent and thorough investigation.”
Baez said that he will conduct his own investigation on the situation.
“Absolutely no chance he took his own life,” agent Brian Murphy said on Twitter, per the Herald. “Chico was not a saint, but my family and I loved him and he would never take his own life.”
The comments from Baez and Murphy imply suspicion that Hernandez was killed. The authorities claim that Hernandez hung himself with a bed sheet, and that he attempted to impede entry to his cell by “block[ing] his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items.”
After former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips was found dead in a California jail cell last year, his family and attorneys requested an investigation. Eventually, a coroner determined that Phillips did indeed commit suicide.
Phillips left two separate notes; according to Massachusetts authorities, Hernandez did not leave a note.