BOSTON — Massachusetts prison officials say former NFL star Aaron Hernandez has hanged himself in his cell and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
An official with the Massachusetts Department of Correction says Hernandez was found hanged in his cell just after 3 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities tried to revive the former New England Patriots tight end, and he was pronounced dead at UMass Memorial-Health Alliance Hospital in Leominster at 4:07 a.m.
Prison officials say the Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing unit at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts They say he hanged himself using a bed sheet that he attached to a cell window.
Authorities say Hernandez tried to block the cell door from the inside by jamming the door with various items.
Hernandez, age 27, was acquitted last Friday in a 2012 double slaying prosecutors said was fueled by his anger over a drink spilled at a nightclub. He already was serving a life sentence for the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
He played with the Patriots from 2010-12 after being selected in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.