NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP/WHDH) – Family members of Aaron Hernandez are asking a judge to order Massachusetts prison officials to preserve evidence so they can investigate the circumstances of his death.
A medical examiner says the former New England Patriots player hanged himself while serving a life sentence for murder.
Authorities say cardboard was found jammed into the door tracks, likely an attempt to slow anyone who tried to enter the cell. Sources also tell 7News that the floor of the cell was slippery, covered in either soap or shampoo.
Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, filed a complaint Wednesday on behalf of the daughter she had with Hernandez. It asks that prison officials be barred from altering or destroying any potential evidence, including Hernandez’s writings, video and audio recordings and medical records.
A judge in New Bedford is due to hear the request at 2 p.m. Friday.
Hernandez was found dead in his cell Wednesday, days after being acquitted in a 2012 double homicide case. He was already serving a life term in a 2013 killing.
While the DA is confident that Hernandez acted alone, sources say at least one corrections officer is facing disciplinary action for missing a 2 a.m. walk-through at the prison Wednesday morning.
The walk-through would have been only an hour before Hernandez was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell.
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