Aaron Hernandez committed suicide in prison on Wednesday morning, the Department of Correction confirmed. He was 27.
The former New England Patriots star was found hanging in his cell at Souza Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., at approximately 3:05 a.m, reports the Boston Globe.
“Mr. Hernandez was in a single cell in a general population unit,” the statement said. “Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bedsheet that he attached to his cell window. Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items.”
After he was discovered, Hernandez was transported to UMass Memorial in Leominster, where he was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. Wednesday.
Hernandez’s suicide comes five days after he was acquitted of murdering two men in Boston in 2012. However, the former athlete was still serving a life without parole sentence for murdering Odin L. Lloyd in 2013.