Image via Getty/Boston Globe
Part one of a two-part documentary series on Oxygen about Aaron Hernandez, appropriately titled Aaron Hernandez Uncovered, aired on Saturday. What started off as a frustratingly slow summary of Hernandez's past, which appeared to hit a downfall during his teenage years, slowly built up to what is sure to be an exciting part two, airing on Sunday.
The ex-Patriot seemingly led a double life as an NFL-star with an intense dark side. The first part of the series featured his former lawyer, fiancée, and ex-teammates, who shared their points of view on Hernandez. Hernandez committed suicide in his jail cell in 2017 while he was serving a life sentence for killing Odin Lloyd in 2013. Hernandez hung himself with a bedsheet.
By the end of part one, there were still a handful of loose ends that will hopefully be tied in part two: what concrete evidence proves that Hernandez pulled the trigger that killed Lloyd? Why was his fiance so committed to his defense? Did Hernandez actually have motive to kill Lloyd? Or was Hernandez simply trying to hide that he was gay?
There were, though, a few snippets of information we can begin to piece together from part one. Below were a few things that we learned from watching the first part of the documentary.
Hernandez was deeply affected as a teenager by the death of his father
The death of Hernandez's father, according to those who reported on him while in high school, was when his life started to spiral. Hernandez was 16 at the time of his death in 2006. Shortly thereafter, he discovered that his mother was involved in an affair and became estranged from her.
Hernandez was charged with felony battery while out with Tim Tebow
On April 28, 2007, Hernandez tried to skip the bill when he was out with Tim Tebow. Hernandez was charged with a felony for battery after he punched the person that escorted him out of the bar. The charges were dismissed.
"Nobody knew what kinda dark side he had."
Hernandez signed a $40 million contract with the Patriots a year after he was pushed to the fourth round of the 2010 draft pick due to criminal activities he was associated with while he was a student. Former teammates and league insiders said he was living a double life. "Nobody knew what kinda dark side he had."
Hernandez's fiance was skeptical of his co-defendants from the beginning
Shayanna Jenkins, Hernandez's fiance, said she did not like his friends Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz. His lawyer said the guys acted like security so Hernandez could have pockets of a normal life. Former teammate Brandon Spikes said,"Everything about those guys he was with was just grimy," and he told Hernandez he has everything in the world to lose.
Hernandez had the support of his girl but not his team
Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of his fiancee's sister, was murdered. Hernandez told her he did not know why the police showed up to their home in the middle of the night. She said she would stand by him through it all and she did. The Patriots, however, did not: Pats owner Robert Kraft told him associating with the team was not a good idea anymore. When he was arrested, the Pats cut him within hours and also offered fans a free exchange for his jersey. Ouch.
There was a lot of evidence pointing to Hernandez. A LOT.
On the body of Odin Lloyd, keys to a rental car taken out in Hernandez's name were found. The bullet found in the rental car it matched the casings at the crime scene. Defense attorneys argued there were no witnesses, and the gun was actually never found. Yet reporters claim there was an overwhelming amount of evidence pointing to Hernandez.
One theory claims Hernandez was gay
A possible motive that arose was that Hernandez was actually gay and Odin Lloyd knew about it. The theory is that maybe Lloyd knew and was planning to out him.