Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, who was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, was found dead hanging from his prison cell at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center early Wednesday morning.
Though the scene appeared to manifest the cause of death, an official autopsy performed Friday ruled Hernandez’s death as a suicide.
In response to the ex-Patriots’ death, Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, could take legal action. According to the Boston Globe, a Bristol Superior Court judge ordered the Department of Correction on Friday to preserve all evidence related to Hernandez’s death as Jenkins-Hernandez might file a negligence lawsuit against state prison official for failing to prevent Hernandez’s suicide.
Jenkins-Hernandez’s lawyer, George Leontire, told Bristol County Superior Court on Friday that his camp was “very concerned about the loss of evidence in this case,” per the Globe. Not only that, but Leontire believes the prison committed an “extraordinary violation” of department procedure the morning of Hernandez’s death.
According to the Globe, Leontire told the court that Worcester District Attorney Joseph Early’s office indicated there was “no check of Mr. Hernandez’s cell” between 8 p.m. and 3:03 a.m
As a result, Jenkins-Hernandez could bring a civil action against the state for “negligent supervision or negligence,” per the Globe.
According to the Globe, some of the evidence to be preserved includes, “Hernandez’s property in the cell and his writings; the sheets and ligature found in the cell; photographs of the cell; Hernandez’s medical and mental health records; recordings of calls Hernandez made during the month leading up to his death; and records of forensic tests and witness interviews concerning Hernandez’s death.”
Thumbnail photo by Keith Bedford/The Boston Globe Images
