Crime

Aaron Hernandez, former New England Patriots star, found dead in prison cell: Official

Erik Ortiz
WATCH LIVE
Aaron Hernandez found dead, hanged in cell
VIDEO0:4800:48
Aaron Hernandez found dead, hanged in cell

Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end convicted of murder, was found dead early Wednesday of an apparent suicide inside his cell at a Massachusetts prison, a state correction official said.

Correction officers discovered Hernandez hanged by a bed sheet attached to his cell window at about 3:05 a.m., said Christopher M. Fallon, assistant deputy commissioner of communications for the state Department of Correction. The former football star had attempted to "block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items," Fallon said in a statement.

More from NBC News:
Baseball Great Rod Carew Hopes to Raise Awareness After Heart Transplant
What's Next for Arkansas' Push to Execute a Record Number of Inmates
Deported 'Dreamer' Sues Trump Administration for Answers

Officers attempted life-saving techniques and transported him from the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley to a local hospital, but he was declared dead about an hour later.

Hernandez, 27, had been found not guilty last Friday of a 2012 drive-by shooting in Boston. He was already spending a life sentence without the possibility of parole for a 2015 first-degree murder conviction in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player who had been dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancée. Hernandez appealed that verdict.