What Happened to Aaron Hernandez? What You Need to Know About the Former Patriots Player’s Rise and Fall

This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

The rise and tragic fall of one of the NFL’s most celebrated players is dramatized in FX’s new show “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” about the former New England Patriots tight end.

Hernandez’s origins as a football star, his rise to fame in college and the NFL, and his death at age 27 after a murder conviction are explored in the new series from executive producer Ryan Murphy.

Here’s what you need to know about Hernandez’s life.

Who was Aaron Hernandez?

Hernandez was named the Gatorade Connecticut Football Player of the Year as a senior in high school, then rose to prominence as an All-American tight end at the University of Florida from 2007 to 2009.

His coach at Florida was Urban Meyer, who led teams to three national championships during his career. He led Florida to the national title in 2006, a season before Hernandez joined the program as a freshman.

Hernandez was a star for the Gators, but Meyer was frustrated by his marijuana use and missed classes, according to a 2018 book by Hernandez’s attorney, Jose Baez. (Hernandez said in 2013 that he once violated the team’s drug-testing policy, following a report that he failed multiple drug tests in Florida and received special treatment. Meyer denied that report, too, saying Hernandez was “held to the same drug-testing policy as all other players.”)

After three seasons, Meyer told Hernandez to enter the NFL draft because he would not be welcome in the program because of his marijuana use and poor grades, according to Baez’s book.

Hernandez was drafted in the fourth round by the New England Patriots in 2010, with whom he played for three seasons.

The New England native emerged as a star in 2011 for the Patriots, teaming with Rob Gronkowski to give them a formidable pair of tight ends as targets for legendary quarterback Tom Brady. They reached the Super Bowl before losing to the New York Giants.

Hernandez’s final season with New England was in 2012, when they reached the AFC Championship Game and lost to the Baltimore Ravens.

Why did Aaron Hernandez go to jail?

Hernandez was arrested and charged with the 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player and friend who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée.

Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder in 2015 for shooting Lloyd in a deserted industrial park and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said Hernandez was angry with Lloyd at a nightclub two nights before the shooting, according to a 2015 NBC News report. They showed surveillance video of him at his home holding what appeared to be a gun, and said a marijuana joint found near Lloyd’s body contained DNA from Lloyd and Hernandez.

His defense team said Hernandez was present when Lloyd was killed, but that the act was carried out by two friends.

Hernandez was also charged with killing two men in a fatal 2012 shooting outside a Boston nightclub, but was acquitted in 2017, just days before his death.

His murder conviction was also overturned by a Massachusetts judge a month after his death in 2017. Hernandez was in the process of appealing his case when he died in prison. A Massachusetts rule states that when a defendant dies during an appeal, the conviction is overturned and the indictment is dismissed.

How did Aaron Hernandez die?

The former star was found dead in his cell on April 19, 2017, apparently by suicide, a Massachusetts prison official said. He was 27.

In May 2017, Hernandez’s final letter to his fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, was revealed in a court filing. In the letter, he asked her to “tell my story in detail, but never think about anything else except how much I love you. This was the ultimate plan, the Almighty’s plan, not mine! I love you!”

He did not specifically mention suicide, but it was one of three letters that authorities described as suicide notes, NBC News reported at the time.

Inmates told police they had no reason to believe Hernandez was suicidal, according to an investigative report released by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections in 2017.

“He was talking about the NFL and going back to play even if it wasn’t with the Patriots,” one inmate told investigators.

In an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw on a 2017 episode of his show, Jenkins-Hernandez said Aaron Hernandez was optimistic when they last spoke.

“I don’t think it was suicide,” she said in the interview.

In September 2017, brain scans of Hernandez revealed that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTA), which can cause memory loss, impaired judgment and violent behavior. The condition has been seen in many former NFL players and has been associated with cognitive changes that can lead to previously unexplained behavior, Dr. Ann McKee of Boston University School of Medicine said in 2017.

What is “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” based on?

The series draws its story from the podcast “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.”, created by The Boston Globe and Wondery.

The six-part podcast traces Hernandez’s early life as a football star and his troubled family history growing up in Connecticut, to his infamy as the first active NFL player to be charged with multiple murders.

Linda Pizzuti Henry and Ira Napoliello of the Boston Globe served as executive producers of the show along with Murphy and nine others.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com