It was just after 3 a.m. on a Wednesday morning when the world fundamentally shifted for anyone following the saga of the New England Patriots. Specifically, April 19, 2017. That is the exact date when Aaron Hernandez died.
The news didn't just break; it exploded.
He was only 27 years old. At the time, Hernandez was sitting in a single cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts. If you remember that week, the timing was eerie—almost cinematic in a dark way. Just five days earlier, he’d been acquitted of a 2012 double murder. People actually thought he might have a path to freedom. Then, suddenly, he was gone.
The Morning Aaron Hernandez Died: What the Reports Say
Guards found him hanging from a bedsheet attached to his cell window. It wasn’t a quick discovery. By the time they got to him, he was unresponsive. They rushed him to UMass Memorial-HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, but it was too late. He was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m.
The details that trickled out later were honestly pretty haunting.
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- The Door: He had jammed the cardboard from a tissue box into the door tracks to slow down anyone trying to get in.
- The Forehead: Reports confirmed he had "John 3:16" written on his forehead in red ink.
- The Bible: A Bible was found in the cell, flipped open to that exact verse.
- The Notes: He left three suicide notes—one to his fiancée Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, one to his daughter, and one to his attorney Jose Baez.
Basically, the guy who once caught touchdowns from Tom Brady in a Super Bowl ended his life in a maximum-security prison while his former teammates were literally preparing to visit the White House to celebrate another championship. The contrast is still hard to wrap your head around.
Why the Timing of His Death Sparked Massive Conspiracy Theories
When did Aaron Hernandez die? He died right when he was winning. At least, that's how it looked on the surface. Because he had just been cleared of the Boston double homicide, his legal team was gearing up to appeal his only remaining conviction—the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.
Because of his death, a weird, old legal rule called abatement ab initio kicked in.
Essentially, under Massachusetts law at the time, if a defendant dies while their case is under appeal, the conviction is wiped out. For a brief moment in 2017, Aaron Hernandez technically died an "innocent" man in the eyes of the law. This didn't last, though. In 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court stepped in and reinstated the conviction, basically saying the rule was outdated and unfair to the victims.
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The CTE Revelation That Changed Everything
You can't talk about when Aaron Hernandez died without talking about what they found in his brain. After he passed, his family donated his brain to Boston University’s CTE Center.
What Dr. Ann McKee found was shocking.
Hernandez had Stage 3 Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). For a 27-year-old, this was unheard of. Dr. McKee famously noted that his brain showed damage usually seen in players in their 60s. We’re talking about massive "tau" protein deposits and significant brain shrinkage.
While doctors are careful not to say "CTE made him a murderer," they do acknowledge that the frontal lobe damage he suffered affects impulse control, judgment, and rage. It doesn't excuse what he did, but it adds a layer of medical tragedy to the criminal one. It makes you wonder if the Aaron Hernandez who died in 2017 was even the same person who started at Florida years earlier.
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A Timeline of the Final Days
- April 14, 2017: Acquitted of the 2012 double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
- April 18, 2017: Spoke to his legal team; they described him as "positive" and "excited."
- April 19, 2017 (3:03 a.m.): Discovered by prison guards.
- April 19, 2017 (4:07 a.m.): Officially pronounced dead.
The Aftermath and Legacy
His death didn't bring much peace. Odin Lloyd’s family had to fight to keep the conviction on the books. Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez had to deal with the fallout of the letters and the public reveals about Aaron's private life.
It’s a messy story.
If you're looking for the "why," you won't find one single answer. Was it the K2 (synthetic marijuana) found in his system? Was it the secret he was reportedly keeping about his sexuality? Or was it the Stage 3 CTE rotting his brain from the inside out?
Ultimately, Aaron Hernandez died at a crossroads of sports, crime, and medical science. He remains the most high-profile example of how a "dream life" in the NFL can turn into a literal nightmare in a matter of months.
Actionable Insights for Following This Case:
If you want to understand the full scope of the Hernandez story beyond just the date of his death, look into the Boston University CTE Center's full report on his brain. It is the most objective piece of evidence available regarding his mental state. Additionally, the Netflix docuseries Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez provides the most comprehensive look at the various prison phone calls and legal maneuvers that occurred in the weeks leading up to April 19.