Aaron Hernandez: Crimes, CTE, Death, and Aftermath

Few NFL stories take the kind of dark turn that Aaron Hernandez’s did—a star tight end for the New England Patriots, convicted of murder and dead in prison at 27, forcing an uncomfortable question about how a professional athlete with a $40 million contract ends up serving life for killing a friend. This article traces the full arc of Hernandez’s life, from his Florida college championships to the murders, the conviction, the posthumous CTE diagnosis, and the messy financial aftermath his family still deals with today.

Born: November 6, 1989, Bristol, Connecticut ·
Died: April 19, 2017, Leominster, Massachusetts ·
Convicted of: First-degree murder (Odin Lloyd, 2015) ·
Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole ·
CTE Diagnosis: Grade 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (posthumous) ·
NFL Career: 2010–2012, New England Patriots

Eight key facts about Hernandez’s life and case, one pattern: the contrast between athletic success and criminal destruction is stark.

What was Aaron Hernandez accused of?

Murder of Odin Lloyd (2013)

• Charged with first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player dating his fiancée’s sister (ABC News (national broadcast network)).
• Lloyd was shot multiple times at an industrial park near Hernandez’s home in North Attleboro, Massachusetts.
• Hernandez was convicted on April 15, 2015, and sentenced to life without parole (CBS News (national broadcast network)).

Double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado (2012)

• Charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the July 2012 shooting deaths of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston (CNN (cable news network)).
• The victims were shot after a confrontation at a Boston nightclub.
• Hernandez was acquitted of the double murder on April 14, 2017, just five days before his death (The Boston Globe (major regional newspaper)).

The pattern: Hernandez faced murder charges for three separate victims across two incidents, yet was only convicted for one—the Lloyd case—because his death triggered automatic acquittal on the double murder via legal abatement.

How many people did Aaron Hernandez shoot?

Victims: Odin Lloyd, Daniel de Abreu, Safiro Furtado

• Three confirmed shooting victims across two incidents (Wikipedia (user-contributed encyclopedia)).
• Odin Lloyd: shot multiple times at an industrial park on June 17, 2013.
• Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado: shot after a confrontation at a Boston nightclub in July 2012.

Shooting incidents: 2012 (two victims), 2013 (one victim)

• 2012 double homicide: Abreu and Furtado killed in Boston’s South End.
• 2013 murder: Lloyd killed in North Attleborough, Massachusetts.

The implication: Hernandez was linked to three homicides in two separate shooting incidents, but legal abatement after his death left him officially convicted of only one.

What caused Aaron Hernandez’s brain damage?

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) diagnosis

• Posthumous diagnosis of Grade 3 CTE announced by Boston University researchers in November 2017 (Boston University Bostonia (university research publication)).
• Dr. Ann McKee, director of the BU CTE Center, described it as the most severe case she had ever seen in someone so young—Hernandez was 27 at death.

Link to football-related head trauma

• Severe brain damage linked to repetitive head impacts from football, starting in youth leagues and continuing through the NFL (CBS News (national broadcast network)).
• CTE is associated with impulse control issues, aggression, depression, and cognitive decline—all symptoms Hernandez reportedly displayed.

Research by Boston University CTE Center

• The BU CTE Center described Hernandez’s brain as a classic case of CTE pathology with severe damage in the frontal lobe and hippocampus (PubMed Central (National Library of Medicine database)).
• A scholarly article in SAGE Journals (academic law publication) noted the case became a subject of media and academic analysis regarding brain trauma and criminal behavior.

The trade-off: while CTE may explain some of Hernandez’s impulsive behavior and aggression, medical experts remain divided on whether brain damage alone can cause someone to commit murder—and no court has ever accepted CTE as a standalone insanity defense.

How many years did Aaron Hernandez get?

Life sentence without possibility of parole

• Convicted of first-degree murder on April 15, 2015, and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole (ABC News (national broadcast network)).
• Judge Susan Garsh imposed the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Massachusetts.

Time served and suicide before appeal

• Hernandez was imprisoned for approximately 4 years—from his arrest in June 2013 until his death in April 2017 (CBS Boston (regional news outlet)).
• His appeal was automatically nullified because of abatement ab initio—a legal doctrine that voids a conviction if the defendant dies before exhausting appeals (SAGE Journals (academic law publication)).

Why this matters: the abatement rule meant that in the eyes of Massachusetts law, Hernandez died an innocent man on the Lloyd murder—even though a jury had found him guilty. His family’s lawyers successfully argued this to free up his estate from civil liability.

The legal abatement created a complex financial outcome that left both sides unsettled.

Did Aaron Hernandez’s family get any of his money?

Estate distribution and abatement rule

• The principle of abatement ab initio voided his murder conviction, affecting how his estate was handled in civil court.
• The Odin Lloyd family filed a wrongful death lawsuit and eventually received a $3.7 million settlement from Hernandez’s estate.

Wrongful death lawsuit by Odin Lloyd’s family

• Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward, pursued a civil claim that was settled for $3.7 million, drawing from Hernandez’s remaining assets (CNN (cable news network)).

Daughter’s settlement from NFL pension

• Hernandez’s daughter, Avielle, received a portion of his NFL pension through a structured settlement designed for her benefit.
• The exact amount of the pension payout was not publicly disclosed.

The pattern: the financial aftermath of Hernandez’s death created a paradox—his conviction was erased, but his estate still paid millions to his victims’ families. For a young athlete who earned roughly $10 million in his NFL career, the net result left very little for his own child.

Why did Aaron Hernandez shoot?

Possible gang involvement

• Prosecutors alleged Hernandez had ties to gang activity in Boston, though no formal gang affiliation was proven at trial (A&E (television network documentary unit)).
• Witness testimony suggested Hernandez believed Odin Lloyd had spoken to people he shouldn’t have—but no single motive was ever confirmed.

Psychological factors and CTE influence

• Defense attorney Jose Baez argued that CTE played a role in Hernandez’s actions, impairing his judgment and impulse control.
• CBS News reported that repeated football head trauma “may have contributed” to his CTE and subsequent behavior (CBS News (national broadcast network)).

Lack of definitive motive

• No single verified motive was established in either the Lloyd murder or the 2012 double homicide (A&E (television network documentary unit)).
• Speculation includes gang ties, jealousy over Lloyd’s relationship with his fiancée’s sister, or paranoid behavior possibly linked to CTE.

The catch: the most disturbing part of the Hernandez case may be that there’s no clean answer. Without a definitive motive, his violence remains a disturbing void—and CTE is a factor, not a full explanation.

Timeline: The rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez

• November 6, 1989: Aaron Josef Hernandez born in Bristol, Connecticut. (Wikipedia (user-contributed encyclopedia))
• 2008: Wins BCS National Championship with Florida Gators. (CNN (cable news network))
• 2010: Drafted by New England Patriots in the fourth round, 113th overall. (The Boston Globe (major regional newspaper))
• July 2012: Double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston’s South End. (BBC News (international news service))
• June 17, 2013: Odin Lloyd murdered; Hernandez arrested five days later. (CBS News (national broadcast network))
• April 15, 2015: Convicted of first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd; sentenced to life without parole. (ABC News (national broadcast network))
• April 14, 2017: Acquitted in 2012 double murder case. (The Boston Globe (major regional newspaper))
• April 19, 2017: Found dead in his prison cell; ruled suicide by hanging. (BBC News (international news service))
• November 2017: Posthumous diagnosis of Grade 3 CTE announced by Boston University. (Boston University Bostonia (university research publication))

The shape: Hernandez’s timeline compresses just 27 years—and the three-year window from the first murders to his death contains the entire criminal arc.

Quotes that frame the case

“He is the killer on the Patriots.”

— Prosecutor William McCauley, closing arguments at Hernandez’s murder trial

“The severity of the brain damage was remarkable, especially given his age.”

— Dr. Ann McKee, director of the Boston University CTE Center (Boston University Bostonia (university research publication))

“He had the most severe case of CTE we’ve ever seen in a young person.”

— Dr. Ann McKee, describing Hernandez’s brain pathology

“The defendant, Aaron Hernandez, is sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole.”

— Judge Susan Garsh, April 15, 2015

To fully grasp the tragedy, one must examine the dark turn of Aaron Hernandezs story, from his NFL stardom to his murder conviction and the shocking CTE diagnosis.

Frequently asked questions

For the Lloyd family, the consequence was clear: they received $3.7 million, but no conviction stands. For Hernandez’s daughter Avielle, the outcome is a pension settlement—but no father. The pattern of talent, violence, and brain trauma leaves a question mark for every parent who watches their child strap on a helmet.