Money Crimes with Nicole Lapin - True Crime This Week: Criminal Athletes

Episode Date: January 4, 2026

This episode of True Crime This Week revisits two of the most shocking scandals in sports history: the 1994 assault on Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan—an attack that unraveled into a web of abuse, jealousy, and sabotage involving fellow skater Tonya Harding—and the 2015 murder trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, whose meteoric rise gave way to a life marked by violence, paranoia, and tragedy. Vanessa Richardson chronicles how both athletes’ careers were derailed not by competition, but by criminal choices and destructive influences, revealing the darker side of fame and the devastating consequences when talent collides with turmoil. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow Scams, Money and Murder to never miss a case! For Ad-free listening and early access to episodes, subscribe to Crime House+ on Apple Podcasts. Scams, Money and Murder is a Crime House Original Podcast, powered by PAVE Studios 🎧 Need More to Binge?  Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Crime House Daily, Killer Minds, Murder True Crime Stories and more wherever you get your podcasts! Follow me on Social Instagram: @Crimehouse TikTok: @Crimehouse Facebook: @crimehousestudios X: @crimehousemedia YouTube: @crimehousestudios To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, Crime House community. It's Vanessa Richardson. Exciting news. Conspiracy theories, cults and crimes is leveling up. Starting the week of January 12th, you'll be getting two episodes every week. Wednesdays, we unravel the conspiracy or the cult, and on Fridays we look at a corresponding crime. Every week has a theme. Tech, bioterror, power, paranoia, you name it. Follow conspiracy theories, cults and crimes now. on your podcast app because you're about to dive deeper, get weirder, and go darker than ever before. This week in crime history, we're covering two events that rocked the world of professional sports.

On January 6th, 1994, Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked and injured after a training session. Later, Nancy's rival, Tanya Harding, would be implicated in the crime. Twenty-one years after that, on January 9, 2015, former NFL star Aaron Hernandez went on trial for murdering one of his friends. Welcome to True Crime This Week. I'm Vanessa Richardson. Every Sunday will be revisiting notorious crimes from the coming week in history, from serial killers to mysterious disappearances or murders. Every episode will explore stories that share a common theme.

Each week will cover two stories, one further in the past and one more rooted in the present. Here at Crime House, we know. none of this would be possible without you, our community. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following True Crime This Week, wherever you get your podcasts. And for ad-free and early access to True Crime This Week, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. This week's theme is Criminal Athletes. First, we'll start on January 6, 1994, when 24-year-old Nancy Kerrigan was attacked after a training session for the upcoming U.S. skating championships in Detroit. In the days that followed, investigators would learn this wasn't a

random incident. It was sabotage. Then we'll jump ahead to January 9th, 2015, when former pro football player, 25-year-old Aaron Hernandez, went on trial for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd. Aaron had been an up-and-coming star in the NFL with a multi-million dollar contract, but this murder brought his promising football career to a brutal end. We'll kick off both of these cases coming up. On the afternoon of January 6, 1994, 24-year-old figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was gliding across the ice at the Koboe Arena in downtown Detroit. Kerrigan was one of the best figure skaters in the world. She'd won bronze and silver medals at the 1991 and 1992 World Championships, and was

hard at work training for the 1994 U.S. figure skating championships. A good performance would qualify her for the biggest honor of all, a chance to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics the following month, and Nancy was determined to impress. After training for a couple of hours, Nancy left the ice and walked down a corridor toward the locker room. As she made her way down the hallway, a muscular man approached her from behind walking briskly. As he drew closer, the man pulled out an expanding police baton and whipped it hard against Nancy's lower right thigh. Nancy collapsed, screaming in pain, but the man took off running. By the time Arena staff and an ABC camera crew arrived moments later, he was already gone. The attack had severely bruised Nancy's knee and

quadriceps tendon. The injuries weren't life-threatening, but there was no way Nancy could spin and jump at the U.S. championship in a few days' time, which meant she wouldn't be able to qualify for the Olympics. As Nancy's trainers tended to her injuries, she cried, why, why, why? Over the next few weeks, investigators would track down the person who could answer that question. Nancy's friend and fellow figure skater, Tanya Harding. Nothing ever came easy for Tanya. Born in Portland, Oregon in 1970, she grew up in a chaotic household below the poverty line. Her father had health issues and often struggled to hold down a job. Her mother, Lovona, worked full time as a waitress to provide for Tanya and four other children from previous marriages. But Lovona was hardly a nurturing

figure. She was an alcoholic who drank throughout the day, and she subjected Tanya to a constant stream of verbal and physical abuse. She never missed an opportunity to tell Tanya she was ugly or fat, and she wouldn't hesitate to slap Tanya or hit her with a hairbrush, even in front of other people. Tanya's other relationships weren't much better. Her family moved frequently, so she never stayed in one school long enough to make friends, and between the ages of 5 and 15, she was repeatedly sexually abused by one of her half-siblings. Tanya had just one escape from the non-stop torment of her daily life, figure skating. Tanya first set foot on the ice at the age of three when her parents took her to a rink at a local mall for her birthday.

She was a natural. long she was ice skating whenever she could and dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion one day. And it wasn't long until she caught the attention of professional figure skating coach Diane Rawlinson. Rawlinson realized that at just three years old, Tanya was better than many of the older kids she worked with. Rawlinson offered to take Tanya on as a student, and the rest was history. With Rawlinson's coaching, Tanya won multiple local and regional skating competitions in the years to come. It wasn't easy. Figure skating is an expensive sport, and everybody in Tanya's cash-strapped family had to go above and beyond to cover the costs.

Tanya would wake up before dawn to practice at the ice rink, go to school, then her part-time job, all before returning to the rink for more practice. Lovona worked extra shifts to pay for Rawlinson's lessons and hand-sowed costumes for Tanya to wear in competitions. But it all paid off. In 1986, at the age of 16, Tanya placed sixth at the U.S. figure skating championships. Not long after, she dropped out of high school to focus on her skating. Around this time, there was another major development in Tanya's life. While practicing her skating at the mall, she met her first boyfriend, a seven. 17-year-old named Jeff Galooly.

Tanya and Jeff dated for the next three years as her success on the figure skating circuit continued to grow. She placed fifth at the U.S. figure skating championships in 1987 and 1988 and jumped up to third place in 1989. That same year, Jeff proposed, and the two got married in 1990 when Tanya was 20 years old. Despite their whirlwind romance, things weren't quite as picture-perfect behind the scenes. Sadly, Jeff turned out to be just as abusive as Tanya's mother. When he and Tanya moved in together, Jeff would often stay out late drinking with his friends. Then he'd come home drunk, find an excuse to get angry, and take out his aggression by punching or kicking Tanya.

So in addition to her grueling schedule of skating and part-time food service job, she had to learn to navigate Jeff's moods, but to her it felt normal. As Tanya later told an interviewer, quote, my mom hit me, and she loved me, he hits me, he loves me, it's just the way life goes. But soon, Tanya didn't have time to worry about her relationship. She was too busy making history. In 1991, Tanya Harding started to become a household, name. That was the year she won first place at the U.S. figure skating championships,

receiving near-perfect scores from all of the judges. Even more impressive, she became the first American woman to successfully complete an incredibly complex jump called the Triple Axel in competition. Months later, she repeated this feat at the World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed second. Tanya's star was on the rise, but she had to be a few. But she had competition for her place in the spotlight. In fact, one of her biggest rivals was standing next to her on the podium at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, Nancy Kerrigan, who placed third. Nancy scored just behind Tanya throughout 1991, but the following year, she jumped ahead, placing second in the 1992 National Championships, while Tanya picked up the third place spot. Despite their

fierce rivalry. Tanya and Nancy got along well off the ice, sometimes even sharing hotel rooms at competitions. Like Tanya, Nancy came from a working class background in Massachusetts, and her family also struggled to cover the costs of her figure skating career. But the media treated the two skaters very differently. Tanya was mocked in the tabloids for driving a pickup truck and living in a trailer park as a child. Meanwhile, Nancy was compared to beautiful actresses like Grace Kelly. As the 1994 Winter Olympics approached, the sports world was captivated by the two women, but away from the camera, Tanya was suffering. As her fame grew, her relationship with Jeff deteriorated. He hit her so frequently that sometimes she had to practice

at night so reporters wouldn't see the bruises on her face. Finally, in August of 1993, she filed for divorce. But Tanya was under a lot of pressure from the U.S. Figure Skating Association to present a wholesome, family-friendly image. So in October, she moved back in with Jeff. At this point, he'd been unemployed for nearly a year. Even so, he sometimes referred to himself as Tanya's manager, and he knew that her success was his success, too. If she won big at the Winter Olympics next February, she'd be offered lucrative endorsement deals with major brands. That kind of money could be life-changing for both of them. The only problem was Tanya's scores were suffering.

She placed poorly at competitions throughout 1993 and vented to Jeff that judges were biased against her in favor of Nancy Kerrigan. Jeff was determined to stop Nancy from getting between him and his big payday. So in December of 1993, he decided it was time to take Nancy Kerrigan out of the competition by any means necessary. In 1993, 23-year-old figure skater Tanya Harding was locked in a fierce competition with 25-year-old Nancy Kerrigan. Both skaters were trading off for the top spots at national competitions, and with the 1994 Winter Olympics approaching,

fans and the media were watching the rivalry closely. So was Tanya's abusive ex-husband, 26-year-old Jeff Galooly. Despite everything, they still lived together, and Jeff was determined to make sure Tanya won the gold medal and the lucrative corporate sponsorships that came with it. So he hatched a plan to arrange for Nancy to have an accident that would take her out of the competition. Jeff called his old high school friend Sean Eckert to help him come up with a plan. On paper, Sean seemed like the perfect person to orchestrate a hit on a public figure.

He had his own professional bodyguard agency called World Bodyguard Services, and plenty of stories about participating in covert government operations overseas. In reality, Sean still lived with his parents. World Bodyguard Services had no clients, and his spy stories were completely made up. Jeff knew all this, but he still went to Sean for help with his plan, because Sean knew some guys who could get the job done. On December 27, Sean's friends, Derek Smith and Shane Stant, drove from Phoenix to Portland to meet Sean and Jeff.

They gathered at Sean's parents' house to have. hash out the details of the plot. Jeff explained that something needed to happen to Nancy Kerrigan before the U.S. figure skating championships to clear the way for Tanya to win and go on to the Olympics. After some haggling, Jeff agreed to pay Derek and Shane $2,000 up front for the job, roughly $4,500 in today's money. If Tanya made it to the Olympics, he promised to hire them as her bodyguard, at a rate of $1,000 a week.

Sean wasn't getting paid for his role in the plot, but he still thought he'd make money off it in the long run. The attack on Nancy would cause a panic in the ice skating world. He was confident that these newly security-conscious figure skaters would flock to World Bodyguard Services in search of protection. With the payment settled, the four men brainstormed ideas. Eventually, they landed on a simple plan. Derek and Shane would break Nancy's right leg, the one she relied on to land all her major jumps.

Jeff gave the hitman $2,000, a picture of Nancy Kerrigan, and the address of her training facility in Massachusetts. And then the mission was underway. Did Tanya know that this plan was in motion? The answer to that question depends on who you talk to. Jeff later told the FBI that he described the plot to Tanya after his meeting in Sean's basement and Tanya replied, quote, okay, let's do it. Tanya denied this and later claimed that she heard Jeff and Sean talking about the possibility of, quote, taking out Nancy Kerrigan, and told them not to do it. It's hard to say for sure just how involved she was, but in late December

Tanya called a friend with a bunch of specific questions about where Nancy Kerrigan trained and what times she would be there. Tanya later said this had nothing to do with the attack and that she and Jeff were just trying to settle a bet. But a few days after this call, on December 31, 1994, Shane's stand arrived at Nancy's training facility, the Tony Kent Ice Arena, near Cape Cod. He pulled into the parking lot and sat on his rental car, armed with with a brand new police baton waiting for his target to show her face. Shane spent three days loitering in the parking lot before he learned that Nancy was already in Detroit for the competition.

So he hopped on a Greyhound bus and made the 20-hour journey to Michigan. He arrived on January 4th, checked into an airport hotel under his own name, rented two porn movies, and passed out. On January 5th, Shane's partner, Derek, flew to Detroit to join him. The two drove downtown and scouted out the Kobo Arena, where the skaters were practicing. They managed to figure out the practice schedule and learned that Nancy Kerrigan would be on the ice the following day. It had taken longer than expected, but the hit men had finally located their prey. On January 6th, Derek waited in the night.

the Cobo Arena's parking lot, while Shane went inside and bought a ticket to watch the day's practice. He waited in the stands for 15 minutes, his collapsible police baton hidden in the belt of his pants, until Nancy came out to practice her routine. Then he made his way down to the edge of the ice, lurking out of sight of the arena staff and cameramen filming the practice. Once Nancy had finished practicing, Shane waited until the cameras had stopped recording to follow her down the hallway to the locker room. Picking up speed, he came up alongside her, whipped out his baton,

and swung it down on her right leg as hard as possible. Nancy collapsed, screaming, and Shane sprinted away down the hall. The day before, he and Derek had identified a set of glass double doors that he could use to get out of the arena, but when he ran up to them, he found the doors were chained shut,

So he improvised and crashed through the plate glass doors head first. Stumbling out into the parking lot, Shane knocked over a bystander who tried to stop him, threw his baton away, and took off running in the opposite direction from Derek and the waiting getaway car. Derek had to chase him through the parking lot to pick him up and make their escape. The plan had been poorly thought out and sloppily executed, but against all, odds, it worked, and everybody involved almost got away with it. Although Nancy Kerrigan's leg wasn't broken, she was still too badly injured to compete. This cleared the way for Tanya to have her place in the spotlight. Two days after the attack, on January 8th, Tanya won first

place in the U.S. figure skating championship and secured her chance to compete in the Olympics. John was ecstatic, claiming that he'd changed the course of history. He and Jeff wired $1,300 to Shane and Derek so they could buy plane tickets back to Phoenix. Meanwhile, police in Detroit were bungling their investigation. They released a composite sketch of a suspect that looked nothing like Shane, and most of the witnesses they talked to couldn't even remember the ethnicity of the attacker. Jeff and Tanya gave statements to the police, along with everybody else involved in the competition. For a couple of days after the attack, it seemed like they were in the clear, until January 9th, when Jeff was approached by a pair of FBI agents.

They asked him a lot of questions about Sean Eckert and World Bodyguard Services. Jeff tried to play it cool, but when they asked him if he knew a man named Derek, he started to panic. Jeff claimed not to know anybody named Derek, and the FBI agents left. but now he was rattled. Where did the FBI get that name? It turned out, Sean had tape recorded his entire conversation with Jeff, Shane, and Derek on December 27th. He'd meant to use the tape as an insurance policy in case Jeff refused to pay after the job was done. Instead, in the aftermath of the attack, he played it for some of his friends to brag about his involvement. One of the people who heard the tape immediately called the police to report that Sean was behind the hit on Nancy Kerrigan.

From there, the whole case unraveled quickly. Shane and Derek had booked all their travel on their personal credit cards and checked into hotels under their real names. It was easy for police to put them in Detroit on the day of the assault. Meanwhile, back in Portland, Jeff, Sean, and Tanya had a meeting on January 10th. By now, Tanya officially knew that Jeff and Sean were responsible for what happened. Together, they came up with a cover story for why Tanya had been calling around asking for Nancy's training schedule. They agreed to tell investigators she was trying to get an autograph for a friend. Sean then called Shane and Derek to make sure they gave investigators the same story.

Over the next few days, details from the investigation began to leak. The news that the FBI was investigating members of Tanya's entourage for Nancy's assault sparked a media frenzy. Tanya was constantly hounded by reporters as she tried to train for the Olympics. Even though she repeatedly insisted she knew nothing about the attack, the investigation seemed to confirm the media's narrative about her, that she was trashy, untrustworthy, and a big joke. By January 15th, Sean X. Shane Stant and Derek Smith were under arrest.

In custody, all three men gave up the cover story and immediately confessed, implicating Jeff in the attack. He was arrested a few days later. Around that same time, Tanya sat for a 10-hour interview with the FBI. Several times during the interview, she insisted that she knew nothing about the plot to hurt Nancy. But when FBI agents told her they knew she was lying, Tanya revised her statement. She confessed that she had learned about Jeff's involvement in the assault shortly after it occurred

and had conspired with him and Sean to cover it up. This was a bombshell revelation. And during her interview, her legal team contacted reporters to drop another one. Tanya and Jeff were separating. Tanya issued multiple public apologies for failing to go to. to the police as soon as she knew Jeff was responsible for the attack. And despite all of the chaos, she was determined to compete at the Winter Olympics at the end of February. Meanwhile, Nancy Kerrigan made a speedy recovery from her injury and was granted a spot on the U.S. Olympic team out of sympathy

for what she'd been through. So after all that sabotage and drama, Tanya and Nancy, long-time rivals, faced off on the ice at the Olympics in Lilhammer, Norway. Just seven weeks after the attack, Nancy had what she considered to be one of the best performances of her career and won silver. Tanya's performance didn't go as well. She had to stop her routine midway through

due to a broken skate lace and finished in eighth place. Her fortunes didn't improve in court either. On March 16th, three weeks after the Olympics, 24-year-old Tanya pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to hinder prosecution. She was sentenced to three years of probation, fined $100,000, stripped of her 1994 U.S. figure skating championship title, and banned from ever participating in professional figure skating again.

Tanya Harding's time on the ice was over. In the years after the Olympics, Nancy and Tanya went in different directions. Nancy retired from competing after 1994 and went on to perform professionally in a number of touring ice shows. For the rest of the 90s, Tanya capitalized on her notoriety to briefly compete in other sports, including boxing. As of 2017, she was building decks and painting houses in Vancouver, Washington. It was a disappointing ending to what could have been a beautiful career. Up next, another story of an athlete who got on the wrong side of the law. Hey, Crime House Community. I'm Carter Roy, the host of Murder True Crime Stories.

If you listen to True Crime, because you want more than just what happened, this show is for you. On Murder True Crime Stories, we take deep. dives into history's most notorious murders, but we don't stop at the crime scene. We look beyond the headlines to understand the real story and the people who are impacted the most, because these cases aren't just mysteries, their lives, families, communities that were changed forever. Whether a case is solved or unsolved, my goal is for you to walk away understanding why these stories still matter and why they deserve to be told with care. Each episode explores the darkest corners of true crime while keeping the focus where it belongs on the human cost. If you're

already part of the crime house community, murder true crime stories is a natural next listen. New episodes drop every Tuesday and Thursday, beginning January 16th, new episodes will also drop every Friday. Follow Murder True Crime Stories on Apple. podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. 21 years after the attack on Nancy Kerrigan, another famous athlete came under fire, but he left a lot more than bruises. On January 9, 2015, in Fall River, Massachusetts, 25-year-old former NFL tight end, Aaron Hernandez, went on trial for the murder of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd. Odin was a beloved member of his community, and at the time of his

death, he was also one of Aaron's best friends. Aaron's indictment and trial were a stunning reversal of fortune. Just a few years earlier, Aaron was a beloved football star, a first team All-American in college, who was drafted by the New England Patriots at the age of 20. On the field, he was unstoppable, bowling over his opponents and scoring six touchdown receptions in his very first season. But in his personal life, he was increasingly consumed by a downward spiral of guns, drugs, mental illness, and violence. The trauma that led him there began in his childhood 20 years earlier, and the man responsible was Aaron's own father, Dennis Hernandez. In his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, people called Dennis Hernandez the king.

Growing up in the 1970s, he was a feisty, well-liked Puerto Rican kid who became a star football player at Bristol Central High School. He later scored a football scholarship to the University of Connecticut, but was kicked off the team after a run-in with the law. Without any hope of going pro, Dennis moved back to Bristol and got a job as a high school custodian. later married his girlfriend, Terry, and had two sons, Jonathan, born in 1986, and Aaron, born in 1989. Dennis had high expectations for his boys. He also had a short temper, and it didn't take much to set him off. If Jonathan and Aaron brought home a less than outstanding grade on a report card, they'd get a beating. If they got into any sort of trouble at school, they'd get a beating. Sometimes they didn't have to do anything at all.

If Dennis was in a bad mood, he'd attack his sons without warning. Dennis' expectations for his sons were even higher when it came to sports. He was determined to turn the boys into pro football players by any means necessary. Dennis signed them up for local youth football leagues when they were eight years old, and he pushed them relentlessly to be the best that they could be. If Dennis ever felt that his boys weren't trying hard enough on the field, he'd fly into a violent rage. Despite his behavior at home, Dennis was well-liked and respected around town,

but he still showed his violent side when it came to his son's football careers. When Aaron was eight, Dennis got upset about the way his youth football coach was running the team. The two got into a heated argument during one of the games, which ended when Dennis punched the coach in the face. Other parents called the police, but Dennis was able to sweet talk his way out of any charges. It was an early lesson for Aaron. Consequences were for other people.

As the boys got older, they both found success on the football field. Jonathan followed in Dennis' footsteps and got a football scholarship to the University of Connecticut. But Aaron did even better. As a high school freshman, he was already six feet two inches tall, and he practiced harder than anybody on the team. On the field, he was fast, nimble, and exceptionally gifted at both passing and receiving. In his junior year, he set a statewide record for completed passes. He started getting attention from scouts at major college football programs like Michigan and Notre Dame.

Aaron was well on his way to achieving his father's longtime dreams of football stardom. But then, the un-thorned. thinkable happened. In 2006, when Aaron was 16 years old, Dennis died after a routine hernia surgery at the age of 49. Their father had terrorized them with a lifetime of abuse, but his death was still a devastating blow to Aaron and Jonathan. Aaron in particular never fully recovered from the loss, but he didn't show any of the pain that he was feeling. His father had taught him to keep that all inside. At the funeral, Aaron didn't even cry. Dennis's hardcore approach to parenting had kept Aaron from getting into trouble. That changed after his father died. It was around this time

that Aaron started smoking marijuana, a habit that would come to dominate his life in the years ahead. In the year after his father's death, Aaron began smoking weed before school, before practices, and eventually even before games. At the same time, he had a falling out with his mother and moved in with his cousin, Tanya Singleton. Tanya provided a supportive and nurturing home to Aaron, as well as a lot of her other friends, many of whom had criminal records.

While Aaron was chatting with scouts and giving media interviews about his college plans, he was also hanging out with a growing number of violent criminals. It was a bad environment for a young man who'd just lost his father. But soon, Aaron had a change of scenery. He accepted a full-ride scholarship to play football for the University of Florida,

and his high school let him graduate six months early so that he could start practicing with his new team, ASAP. Aaron Hernandez started playing for the University of Florida Gators when he was just 17 years old, and under head coach Urban Meyer, his schedule was demanding, Aaron often spent 40 to 60 hours a week practicing, playing, or attending team meetings. But the hard work paid off. In his first season with the team, he had nine receptions and scored two touchdowns.

School was a secondary concern. Aaron, who'd barely passed his SATs, was enrolled in easy classes like bowling and gardening. He was assigned sympathetic professors who would give him whatever grade the team needed him to get. And Aaron didn't just get preferential treatment when it came to schoolwork. Near the end of his first semester in 2007, Aaron went out drinking with Tim Tebow, who was the Gator's quarterback at the time. Even though Aaron was just 17, they were still able to order a few drinks. But when the check came, Aaron refused to pay the $12 tab.

When the bar's manager got involved in the dispute, Aaron sucker punched him, rupturing the man's eardrum. This was a felony level offense in Florida. But while bar staff called the police, Aaron and Tim called Coach Meyer. The athletic department's legal team stepped in and made the whole incident go away. The bar manager didn't press charges. Aaron wasn't arrested. And the attack was not made public until years later.

Both on and off the field, Aaron could do no wrong. Aaron spent the next two years racking up major wins for the Gators, all while partying, drinking, and smoking copious amounts of marijuana. By the end of his junior year in 2010, Aaron had received the Mackey Award, recognizing him as the best tight end in college football. But even though Aaron was eligible to play one more year for the Gators, Urban Meyer was done with him. Aaron was immature, entitled, and prone to violence. The previous year, he'd been interviewed by police in connection with a shooting in downtown Gainesville. On top of all that, his drug use was an open secret.

So, with encouragement from his coach, Aaron left college for the NFL. That same year, he was drafted to play for the New England Patriots. At the age of 20, Aaron Hernandez signed a four-year, $2.37 million contract with a $200,000 signing bonus. Team officials were concerned about his disciplinary record at Florida, but Aaron promised that he'd straighten up and stay out of trouble. After all, he was fulfilling his late father's dream of being an NFL star. But Aaron wouldn't keep that promise.

The Patriots facilities in Foxborough, Massachusetts were just two hours away from his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, and all of the unsavory friends he'd made there. After joining the Patriots, Aaron hired two of his old pals, both of whom had criminal records as his personal assistance. One of them, Alexander Bradley, was a drug dealer who kept Aaron supplied with marijuana. It was an important job. At that point, Aaron was smoking as much as four ounces per week. But the drugs didn't do much to mellow him out. In the locker room, Aaron was unstable and quick to anger. One minute he'd be docile and quiet. The next, he'd be furious and close to violence. Even as Aaron racked up touchdowns and became one of the

Patriots most valuable players, his teammates kept him at a distance. Instead, Aaron hung out with a growing circle of criminals from Bristol. Thanks to their influence, he soon took his lawbreaking to a new level. On July 15th, 2012, Aaron and his drug-dealing pal, Alexander Bradley, went out to a nightclub in downtown Boston. Things quickly turned ugly. Aaron often got jumpy and aggressive in loud, crowded spaces like nightclubs where he thought everyone wanted to fight him.

That night, a fellow patron named Daniel DeAbreu bumped into Aaron and spilled a drink on him. Daniel was apologetic, but Aaron was immediately furious. Alexander managed to calm him down, and the two left the club not long after, but Aaron wasn't ready to let this innocent mistake go. Two hours later, at around 2.30 a.m., Daniel and his friend Safiro Furtado were driving away from the club when Aaron's silver SUV pulled up beside them. Witnesses say someone in the SUV yelled a racial slur,

and began firing a gun into Daniel and Safiro's car, killing both men. Then the SUV sped away. To this day, it's unclear whether Aaron Hernandez or Alexander Bradley fired the shots. But Aaron's violent streak was growing stronger. And just a few months later, that violence would come for Alexander Bradley. In 2010, 20-year-old Aaron Hernandez signed a multi-million dollar contract to play for the New England Patriots. In his first two seasons, he wowed fans with his speed and agility, but off the field, he was out of control.

In the locker room or on the streets, he was prone to sudden, violent outbursts, and he hung out with a group of violent criminals he knew from his hometown in Bristol, Connecticut. One of his closest friends was a drug dealer named Alexander Bradley, who supplied him with large amounts of marijuana. On July 15, 2012, Aaron and Alexander were involved in the shooting of two men who'd spilled a drink on Aaron in a club. It was the beginning of a downward spiral. Police investigating the shooting reviewed security camera footage from the nightclub where the victims had been that night. They were surprised to recognize Aaron Hernandez in the club at the same time, but they just chucked it up to a coincidence. None of them suspected that Aaron would

mix himself up in a double murder. He had just signed a new contract with the Patriots worth $41 million. It was a reward from the Patriots management for his stellar performance over the past couple years. Why would someone in Aaron's position murder two people for no reason? Instead, investigators concentrated on trying to find the silver SUV that witnesses said the shooters drove off in. The SUV wasn't registered in Aaron's name. It had been loaned to him by a local dealership as a publicity stunt. After the shooting, he hid the vehicle in the garage at a friend's house, and then he went on

with his life as though nothing had happened. He spent his days riding jet skis with friends, practicing with the team. team, and even partying at the same nightclub he'd been at on the night of the shooting, and he was about to become a family man. His longtime girlfriend, Cheyana Jenkins, was pregnant and gave birth to their daughter on November 6, 2012. But Aaron didn't let fatherhood get between him and a good time. He started renting a second apartment that his girlfriend didn't know about, where he went

to smoke weed and play with his growing collection of guns. and he kept hanging out with Alexander Bradley, with disastrous results for both of them. In February of 2013, following a disappointing season for the New England Patriots, Aaron and Alexander took a trip to Florida to blow off some steam. They partied at a strip club outside Palm Beach where they ran up a $10,000 tab.

But Aaron was growing increasingly paranoid. He was convinced, that two other men in the club watching them were undercover police officers. And he was convinced that they were investigating them for the double murder they'd committed in Boston last summer. Alexander tried to calm Aaron down, as he often did. But this time, it didn't work. Aaron was certain he was going to go to jail for murder. The two men fought over who would pay the enormous bill, then stormed out of the club.

As they drove back to the house they were staying at, Alexander dozed off in the back of their SUV. A few minutes later, Alexander woke up to a gun in his face. Aaron was pointing a pistol right between his eyes. He was determined not to take the fall for last summer's shooting, so he decided to kill the one person who could put him at the scene of the crime. Before Alexander could react, Aaron fired. Then he dumped his friend in an empty Palm Beach parking lot,

drove to the airport and flew back to Boston with a clear conscience. A few days later, Aaron got a phone call. It was Alexander Bradley. Bystanders had found him bleeding out in the parking lot and called 911. Even though he'd been shot in the head, doctors managed to save his life, though he lost his right eye in the attack. Now he was laid up in a Florida hospital and he was furious. But even though police had questioned him, Alexander refused to tell them who'd shot him.

As he explained to Aaron, he wanted to get revenge himself. Now Aaron really did have something to be paranoid about. Over the next several months, the two men exchanged hundreds of angry text messages. Alexander alternated between threatening to blackmail Aaron and threatening to ambush and kill him. In response, Aaron hired more of his old Bristol friends as bodyguards and added several new guns to his collection.

He even spent six figures on a fresh SUV, which he intended to use as an armored car. The paranoia started bleeding into his professional life as well. He met with Patriot's head coach Bill Belichick and begged to be traded to a West Coast team for his own safety, but didn't explain why. Belichick, who had just paid over $40 million to keep Aaron on the team for the next several years, was confused and rejected the request. Afterwards, Aaron started showing up late to practice, infuriating the team's management. Aaron's fear and self-destructive behavior threatened to take over his life. Even with his fiancé Cheyana and a young daughter at home, he felt increasingly isolated and alone.

So at first, it seemed like a blessing when he started hanging out with Odin Lloyd in the summer of 2013. Odin Lloyd was a 27-year-old who played football for the semi-pro Boston bandits. He was dating Cheyana's sister, and when the two men met at a family get-together, they quickly hit it off. Like Aaron, Odin enjoyed marijuana, video games, and clubbing. But unlike most of Aaron's other friends, Odin was a jewell. genuinely good influence. He was a friendly, cheerful presence in Boston's working class Dorchester neighborhood. He worked part-time as a landscaper and couldn't afford a car, so he biked to all his practices with the Boston bandits. For a humble guy like Odin, it was

thrilling to hang out with a rich NFL superstar, and for Aaron, it was a relief to have somebody close to him who he could trust and confide in. Tragically, Aaron's willingness to open up about his problems may have been exactly what led his relationship with Odin to a sudden, violent end. Odin and Aaron had been hanging out for several weeks when they went to a Boston nightclub called Rumor on June 15, 2013. We don't know what the two men talked about that night, but investigators think Aaron revealed some dark secrets to Odin, possibly about what happened to Alexander Bradley. They also believed that this was when Aaron decided that Odin had to die in order to keep his secrets. Two nights later, in the early morning hours of June

17, Aaron, his bodyguard, Ernest Wallace, and another friend from Bristol, Carlos Ortiz, gathered at a bar in Boston. After numerous drinks, Aaron texted Odin and made plans to meet up. The three men drove to Dorchester and picked Odin up at his house just after 2.30 a.m. In the car with them, Odin seemed to sense that something was wrong. Just after 3 a.m., he started texting his sister, who'd been at the house when he left. He asked, did you see who I am with? NFL, just so you know. The following morning, Odin's body was found in an industrial park one mile away from Aaron's house.

He'd been shot six times. For years, Aaron had gotten away with murder, figuratively and literally, but those days were over now. Aaron had not done a good job covering his tracks. When police searched Odin's body, they found a set of car keys in his pocket. The keys belonged to a car that Aaron had rented. When police showed up at Aaron's house with questions, he initially slammed. the door in their face. On June 18th, they returned with a search warrant. Detectives pulled footage from Aaron's home security system that showed him walking through the front door

shortly after the murder, carrying a pistol. Over the next several days, Aaron maintained his innocence. He even tried to show up for football practice, but staff at the stadium turned him away. The Patriots organization saw the writing on the wall and were already beginning to ties. On June 26, 2013, 24-year-old Aaron Hernandez was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The multi-millionaire football star was taken from his sprawling suburban mansion and locked up in a tiny cell, where he waited to finally face the consequences of his actions. On January 9, 2015, Aaron Hernandez went on trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd. In the year and a half since his arrest, his life had transformed.

His $40 million contract was long gone. The trophies and plaques with his name on them were removed from his high school. The Patriots offered to exchange every Aaron Hernandez jersey they sold, and over a thousand fans took them up on the offer. The trial lasted for three months, as prosecutors presented the extensive physical evidence linking Aaron to the murder. His defense team didn't have much to offer in response. The best they could do was acknowledge that while Aaron was present for the murder, he didn't pull the trigger. The jury wasn't convinced. On April 15, 2015, they found Aaron guilty of murder, which carried an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When the verdict was read, Aaron collapsed into a chair, his face blank, showing no emotion. His fiancé and mother both wept as he was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom to begin his sentence. Aaron did not adjust well to prison life. At the Susa-Baronowski Correctional Center, he racked up dozens of disciplinary infractions. He claimed the guards taunted him and often coped with the stress by smoking K-2, a synthetic form of marijuana that other inmates smuggled into the facility. It was difficult to accept that the rest of his life would be like this. These feelings of despair contributed to what came next.

In the early morning hours of April 19, 2017, a guard noticed a bed sheet was covering the window into Aaron's cell. When prison staff went inside, they found that Aaron had used another sheet as a makeshift noose. to hang himself. They cut him loose and began chest compressions, but by then it was too late. Aaron Hernandez was pronounced dead at the age of 27, a tragic ending to a tragic life. In the wake of the Aaron Hernandez saga, the biggest question on everyone's minds was why? Why would a gifted athlete with millions of dollars and his whole life ahead of him

throw it all away to commit acts of senseless violence. Seven months after Aaron's death, doctors at Boston University offered an answer. A team of specialists examined Aaron's brain and found that he had died with the worst case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, ever recorded in someone so young. CTE is a progressive degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma. Aaron, who'd been playing tackle footballs since the age of eight and received multiple on-field concussions was naturally susceptible to the condition. While it's impossible to determine how much CTE is to blame for Aaron's crimes, nearly all medical experts agree it played a major role in his life and death. And Aaron is

far from the only football player to suffer from the debilitating effects of CTE. Since 2005, at least 20 former NFL players have died. by suicide. Nearly all of them were diagnosed with CTE after their deaths. In the past decade, the NFL and youth football organizations have struggled to prove to players and their families that the sport is safe. As that debate rages on, one thing is certain. A lifetime of football didn't teach Aaron Hernandez the difference between right and wrong. While he amassed fame and fortune. His victims paid the ultimate price. Looking back on this week in crime history, we can see that great athletes don't always show great judgment. Tanya Harding was a legendary

talent on the ice, but her choice to help cover up the assault on Nancy Kerrigan cost her her career. Aaron Hernandez was a valuable asset to every team he played on and committed heinous crimes whenever he was off the field. It's a valuable reminder that there's more to life than the points on the scoreboard. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following True Crime This Week, wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly matters. And for ad-free and early access to True Crime This Week, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.

We'll be back next Sunday. True Crime This Week is hosted by me, Vanessa Richardson, and is a Crime House original, Powering. by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the True Crime This Week team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Natalie Pertzowski, Lori Maranelli, Sarah Camp, Truman Capps, Sheila Patterson, and Michael Langsner. Thank you for listening. Mesa Richardson, and I have exciting news. Conspiracy theories, cults, and crimes is leveling up. Starting the week of January 12th, you'll be getting two episodes every week.

Wednesdays, we unravel the conspiracy or the cult, and on Fridays we look at a corresponding crime. Follow Conspiracy Theory's Cults and Crimes Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen.