Aaron Hernandez found dead in prison cell, officials say

Photo via FoxNews.com

Aaron Hernandez, the former New England Patriots star who was convicted of murder in 2015, killed himself in his prison cell Wednesday morning, officials said.

Hernandez, 27, was found hanging in his cell by corrections officers around 3:05 a.m. at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center, Massachusetts Department of Correction officials said in a statement.

He was pronounced dead an hour later.

Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population housing unit and hanged himself with a bed sheet attached to his cell window. He also tried blocking his door from the inside with various items, officials said.

An investigation was ongoing.

The death of the once-promising NFL tight end came almost two years to the day from when he was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. The 15th selection in the 2010 NFL draft, Hernandez was arrested in August 2013 in connection with Lloyd's June 2013 death.

On April 14, Hernandez was found not guilty in a double homicide seperate from the Lloyd case, however, he was already serving a life sentence in connection with Lloyd's murder.