Dead NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s troubled chapters in prison revealed

THE prison secrets and alleged gang connections of the NFL star who died behind bars have been revealed in a new book.

Aaron Hernandez was 27.

A NEW book will reveal the full details of the rise and fall of former NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez.

The former New England Patriot had a $40 million contract as a professional athlete — he was later found guilty of murder before killing himself in prison, The Sun reports.

James Patterson, the award-winning author of the Alex Cross series and a number of other thrillers, has conducted a number of interviews with close family and friends, former teammates, lawmen and prisoners to get the full story on Hernandez.

The book goes behind-the-scenes at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Centre in Massachusetts, where Hernandez spent the final months of his troubled life.

The New York Post has published a series of revelations from the book, including a number of dark chapters which gives a glimpse into his troubled life behind bars.

Hernandez was found guilty of the murder of Odin Lloyd, having been acquitted of three other murder charges.

Aaron Hernandez in Patriots colours.

When first going to jail, guards had been worried that Hernandez would need protection behind bars, as a high-profile inmate who could be a target.

But, in fact, the star was the aggressor on a number of occasions and appeared to have become a member of the notorious Bloods gang.

One guard wrote a report where Hernandez had apparently threatened to kill the officer and shoot his whole family after a meal was denied.

Several disciplinary reports describe Hernandez getting into fights, while he is said to have kept an improvised tattoo gun and used ‘fishing lines’ — made from torn sheets and tubes of toothpaste — as a method to pass notes.

In 10 months at Massachusetts’ Bristol County jail’s segregated unit, Hernandez spent 120 days in solitary confinement as punishment for breaking rules and violence.

After a while, Hernandez struck up a relationship with the warden, Sheriff Thomas Hodgson.

The jailer introduced the player to the Bible and Hernandez had a change in demeanour — his fiancee Shayanna Jenkins even remarked in a phone call that Hernandez’s mood had changed.

But the relationship was not appreciated by some.

Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez and former fiance Aaron Hernandez.

Hernandez’s lawyers filed a motion to move him to a jail closer to Boston, with the sheriff accused of “self-promotion and non-stop publicity”.

Eventually, Hernandez was moved.

On April 14, 2017, Hernandez was found guilty of one murder and acquitted of all other charges.

Five days later, he was found dead in his cell.

John 3:16 was written on his forehead and the Bible was left open at that verse — “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

He was 27.

If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide, call Lifeline (13 11 14) or the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), or see a doctor.

— This story originally appeared in thesun.co.uk

Originally published as Dead NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s troubled chapters in prison revealed