Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, fiancee of the late Aaron Hernandez, appeared on Monday’s episode of “Dr. Phil,” the first of a two-part interview where she discussed the former New England Patriot who was found dead in his cell last month. Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd.
Jenkins-Hernandez spent much of the interview discussing her relationship with Hernandez and their daughter. She said that their child, who is only 4, does not know that her father was in jail or that he had done anything wrong.
Eventually, the discussion turned to Hernandez’s death, which has been ruled a suicide. Hernandez was found hanging from a bed sheet, with the doorway obstructed. Three notes were recovered from the scene, one of which was addressed to Shayanna. She said the idea that Hernandez could have killed himself doesn’t fit with what she knew about him or her last interaction with him.
“As far as I know, I was the last person to speak with him,” she said, adding that there was no finality to their conversation or any indication that he was planning to kill himself. “It was a normal conversation, which makes me doubt so many things.”
“Do you have any reason to believe, or any information from him that would cause you to think that someone might want him dead?” Dr. Phil asked. Jenkins-Hernandez said no.
Dr. Phil discussed the specifics of the report of how Hernandez was found, including the notes. He asked if she believes the investigation’s findings. “I don’t at all,” she said, saying she’s waiting for her own investigation to reveal the truth.
Jenkins-Hernandez said that when she read the note from Hernandez, it didn’t come across as strange, except that it addressed her as “Shay,” instead of a term of endearment, which she might have expected. She said it appeared to be his handwriting, but that it could have been forged. She said that the note ultimately left her confused, because it didn’t give her insight into what he would have been thinking that would have led to a suicide. “I feel like it’s not enough—it’s so vague—for me to have closure,” she said.
Days before his death, Hernandez had been acquitted of two other murders. Hernandez’s conviction for Lloyd’s murder was vacated posthumously, due to a Massachusetts law that overturns convictions if a defendant dies before completing the appeals process.
Part 2 of the “Dr. Phil” interview is scheduled to air on Tuesday.
[Image via screengrab]
