chronological account of Aaron Hernandez's football exploits, legal troubles, and demise
Interest in his athletic career, from his success on the football field to his two high-profile murder trials, continues to captivate many. Now, this story is the focus of FX's limited series, "American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez," a dramatized presentation of his triumphs and challenges, including head injuries.
CNN closely followed Hernandez's upswing and downfall about a decade ago. Here's a timeline of notable events, including his Super Bowl touchdown, his unexpected arrest, and his passing.
A Football Icon
2006: Dennis Hernandez, Aaron's 16-year-old father, passed away due to complications from a routine hernia surgery.
2007: As a tight end for Bristol Central High School, Hernandez was acknowledged as the Connecticut Gatorade Football Player of the Year. He continued his football career at the University of Florida under Head Coach Urban Meyer.
2008: With quarterback Tim Tebow leading the team, Hernandez and the Gators secured college football's national championship.
2009: Hernandez became the first Gator to win the John Mackey Award, an annual honor bestowed upon the top collegiate tight end.
January 2010: After just three years in college, Hernandez chose to forgo his senior year at Florida and turn professional.
April 24, 2010: Hernandez, at the age of 20, was drafted in the fourth round by the New England Patriots, led by coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady.
April 27, 2010: Hernandez admitted to failing a drug test while playing for Florida.
2010: Alongside fellow rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski, Hernandez formed one of the most successful tight end duos in the NFL.
2011: Hernandez ended the season with 910 yards and seven touchdowns and was named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
February 5, 2012: Hernandez caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady during the Super Bowl, but the New England Patriots lost to the New York Giants with a final score of 21-17.
July 16, 2012: Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, immigrants from Cape Verde, were fatally shot after a night out in Boston, according to prosecutors.
August 27, 2012: Hernandez signed a five-year contract extension with the Patriots worth up to $40 million.
Legal Troubles
June 17, 2013: Odin Lloyd's body, riddled with gunshots, was discovered at an industrial park in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, around a mile from Hernandez's home.
Lloyd, a 27-year-old semipro football player, had been affiliated with Hernandez's fiancée's younger sister. Lloyd was last seen around 2:30 a.m. with Hernandez, Carlos Ortiz, and Ernest Wallace, as per prosecutors, in a rented silver Nissan Altima.
June 18, 2013: Police conducted a search of Hernandez's home in connection to the murder investigation.
June 26, 2013: Hernandez was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder in Lloyd's death, alongside five weapons-related charges. He pleaded not guilty and was held without bail.
The New England Patriots released Hernandez shortly after his arrest.
October 16, 2013: Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's fiancée, pleaded not guilty to perjury charges after prosecutors claimed she lied to a grand jury and disposed of evidence.
November 2013: Hernandez allegedly threatened a jail worker.
February 25, 2014: Hernandez was part of an "altercation with another inmate," as reported by the Bristol County Sheriff's Department.
April 11, 2014: Ortiz and Wallace, Hernandez's friends observed in the car earlier, were indicted and charged with murder.
May 1, 2014: Hernandez was indicted on charges of assault and battery and making threats to harm a person in connection to the February 25 jailhouse altercation. He was also charged with threats to harm a person in relation to the November 2013 incident.
May 15, 2014: Hernandez was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in the 2012 shootings of de Abreu and Furtado in Boston.
May 28, 2014: Hernandez pleaded not guilty to the double-murder charges.
January 29, 2015: The trial for Aaron Hernandez's involvement in Odin Lloyd's murder began in Fall River, Massachusetts.
February 1, 2015: Without Hernandez, the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to win Super Bowl XLIX.
March 27, 2015: Jenkins, Hernandez's fiancée, testified as a prosecution witness under immunity.
April 15, 2015: Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder and weapons charges in Lloyd's death and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
May 11, 2015: Hernandez was indicted in Massachusetts for witness intimidation in the 2013 shooting of Alexander Bradley. Prosecutors believed Bradley was a witness to de Abreu and Furtado's killings, and they claimed Hernandez shot Bradley after he made a comment regarding the double murder.
May 15, 2015: The accusation of perjury against Jenkins is withdrawn, as reported by the Associated Press.
May 21, 2015: Hernandez pleads innocent to the accusation of intimidating witnesses in the Bradley case. In court, Hernandez reveals a fresh tattoo on his neck that reads, “Eternal Devotion.”
May 2016: One of Hernandez's two co-defendants in the Lloyd murder case, Wallace, is found guilty of aiding and abetting murder after the fact and acquitted of murder itself. He is sentenced to between 4.5 and 7 years in prison, as stated by the Bristol County Prosecutor.
June 2016: Ortiz pleads guilty to aiding and abetting after the fact in exchange for the prosecutors dropping the murder charge against him. He is sentenced to between 4.5 and 7 years in prison.
March 1, 2017: Hernandez's trial for the killings of Furtado and de Abreu and alleged witness intimidation of Bradley begins.
Prosecutors claim Hernandez fired at the men five times after de Abreu ran into him at a nightclub and spilled his drink. Prosecutors also suggest Hernandez's tattoos, including a gun and five bullets, represent a “declaration of guilt.”
Hernandez's defense argues that there is little forensic or scientific evidence to support the case.
April 14, 2017: Hernandez is found not guilty of murder in the deaths of Furtado and de Abreu and not guilty of witness intimidation of Bradley. He is found guilty of only one charge: illegal possession of a firearm.
Death and posthumous events
April 19, 2017: Hernandez is found dead in his prison cell at 3:05 a.m. He is declared deceased due to apparent suicide, as reported by the Massachusetts Department of Correction.
April 20, 2017: Hernandez's family announces their intentions to donate his brain to scientists to determine if he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease linked to several NFL athletes. The brain will be handed over to the Boston University CTE Center for further examination, as stated by the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office.
May 9, 2017: A Massachusetts judge overturns Hernandez's murder conviction due to a peculiar legal principle known as “abatement,” under which convictions are voided if a defendant dies before their appeals are heard.
September 21, 2017: Testing on Hernandez's brain reveals he had a “severely advanced” case of CTE, according to lawyer Jose Baez.
October 13, 2018: The Boston Globe’s Spotlight Team releases a six-part series on Hernandez titled “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.” According to the reporting, Hernandez confided in people close to him that he had been sexually abused as a boy and that he had a sexual relationship with his high school quarterback.
October 30, 2018: Hernandez's older brother, Jonathan “DJ” Hernandez, writes a memoir, “The Truth About Aaron,” revealing that the brothers had faced physical abuse from their father and that Aaron Hernandez had come out as gay.
March 13, 2019: Hernandez's murder conviction is reinstated after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court unanimously decides that the legal principle of abatement should be abolished.
September 17, 2024: FX premieres “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” a 10-episode series inspired by Hernandez's life, based on The Globe’s “Gladiator” series.
In light of CNN's extensive coverage of Hernandez's upswing and downfall, the viewers of FX's limited series, "American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez," can expect to ensemble his triumphs and struggles, including his father's passing, acknowledgment as Connecticut's top high school football player, college football championship, and successful NFL career, as well as his legal troubles and prison life.
Us, as viewers, can gain a deeper understanding of Aaron Hernandez's complex and tragic story by tuning into FX's dramatized presentation, which will undoubtedly captivate us, much like his athletic career and high-profile trials.
