As we previously reported, Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his cell early Wednesday morning, officials say. The Massachusetts Department of Corrections said in a statement that Hernandez, who was found not guilty in a double murder trial last week, was discovered hanging in his cell at a Massachusetts facility just after 3:00 am from an apparent suicide. But, his high profile attorney, Jose Baez, released a rather cryptic statement, insinuating that there could be more to what happened, and demanded authorities conduct a transparent and thorough investigation.
In the statement, Baez said that there was no indication that anything was awry with Hernandez and that he was looking forward to an “opportunity for a second chance to prove his innocence.” TMZ is also reporting Baez believes this could be a murder either by inmates or someone in the prison.
Despite being found not guilty in the 2012 murders last week, Hernandez was serving time for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd. His attorneys had appealed his case, and were hopeful they could prevail at the higher court. Prison officials says that Hernandez attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items, and that he hung himself by using a bed sheet that was attached to his cell widow.
According to local reports, in prison, Hernandez was always sitting and laughing or playing basketball with gang members. His attorney, Ron Sullivan, told LawNewz.com that he was a happy go lucky guy when he spoke with us earlier this week.
Baez is calling for a further investigation and says he will release the results when they become available to the public. An autopsy is also underway.
Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.