(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
The prison where Aaron Hernandez killed himself is under lockdown as investigations probe beyond the ex-NFL star’s suicide, a top state official said.
What Happened?
A Massachusetts judge has ordered that Hernandez’s three suicide notes be given to his family so they can try and understand why the 27-year-old took his own life with a bed sheet last week, the Boston Globe reported. Daniel Bennett, the state’s top public safety officer, appeared in court Monday to argue against handing over the letters.
During a recorded sidebar released by the Boston Globe, Bennett argued that releasing the letters would impede the investigation into the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center where Hernandez was detained.
“It’s in lockdown and one of the reasons is because of issues with Mr. Hernandez. And things that have happened with Mr. Hernandez,” Bennett said during the huddle, which included the judge and lawyers in the case.
It is unclear what officials are investigating, however.
“There was a lot of other issues that could have gone on at Souza,” he added, referring to the Shirley, Mass. facility as the state’s “most dangerous prison.”
Bennett admitted that he hadn’t seen the letters, nor did he acknowledge what significance they might hold to the investigation. But he did say Hernandez wrote “essentially don’t cry for him, he’s going to be happy in the afterlife,” according to the Boston Globe.
George Leontire, the lawyer representing Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, filed court documents earlier Monday saying the family had the right to see the ex-New England Patriots star’s final words.
“They desperately (need) the closure the suicide notes would provide,” Leontire worte, according to the newspaper.
The former NFL star was serving a life sentence without the possibility for parole for the 2013 murder of friend Odin Lloyd. A Newsweek report last Friday suggested one possible motive for the murder was to cover up Hernandez’s bisexuality. It’s been rumored that one of his three suicide notes was addressed to his gay prison prison lover, identified as Kyle Kennedy, though the nature of their relationship has not been confirmed.
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center is a maximum security prison in Lancaster, Massachusetts, U.S. It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Correction. It houses 1,042 inmates.
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