Timesuck with Dan Cummins - 385 - Brain Damage, Murder, and Football: The Aaron Hernandez Story

Episode Date: January 29, 2024

I've wanted to dig into this story for a couple of years now. Aaron seemed to have EVERYTHING going for him. And he threw it all away through committing the most confusing, impulsive acts of violence. How much did the severe case of CTE football gave him lead to the murder (and probably multiple murders) he committed? Congrats to the Suck Ranger, Tyler Sea, and please wish him luck on the next chapter of his life. He's a great dude and we will miss having him around! Watch the Suck on YouTube: https://youtu.be/4D-opZ7MK4QMerch: https://www.badmagicmerch.comTimesuck Discord! https://discord.gg/tqzH89vThanks to our Patreon supporters for allowing us to donate $12,900 to truckersagainsttrafficking.org and another $1,440 to our scholarship fund! Thanks to Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio for the first soundbed, and "CESARE RIDES AGAIN" by WombatNoisesAudio for the second soundbed. Want to join the Cult of the Curious Private Facebook Group? Go directly to Facebook and search for "Cult of the Curious" to locate whatever happens to be our most current page :)For all merch-related questions/problems: [e-mail] (copy and paste)Please rate and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere and follow the suck on social media!! @timesuckpodcast on IG and http://www.facebook.com/timesuckpodcastWanna become a Space Lizard? Click here: https://www.patreon.com/timesuckpodcast.Sign up through Patreon, and for $5 a month, you get access to the entire Secret Suck catalog (295 episodes) PLUS the entire catalog of Timesuck, AD FREE. You'll also get 20% off of all regular Timesuck merch PLUS access to exclusive Space Lizard merch. And you get the download link for my secret standup album, Feel the Heat.

Even the least sports-oriented person can probably, off the top of their head, name a few American football players. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and recently the news like a lot, Titan Travis Kelsey, one of the best Titans to ever play. Could Aaron Hernandez also have ended up on the Mount Rushmore of NFL Titans like Kelsey Will, very possible. And then you'd know his name for a different reason. You'd know his name not for murder, but because American football players are some of the biggest celebrity athletes on earth. The best now signed contracts worth a few hundred million dollars.

Can you even imagine having that much money? Kansas City quarterback, phenomenal quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is in the middle of making four hundred and fifty million dollars over 10 years, making almost a million a week over two million a game. And the San Francisco 49ers George Kittle, that tight end, makes the most for a tight end in the NFL 75 million over five years. These guys make stupid money and often date or marry some of the world's top supermodels and pop stars. Kelsey, you know, famously dating Tater Swift as I record this, arguably the

most famous person on earth right now. These guys drive the most expensive luxury cars, live in massive mansions. Jess quarterback Aaron Rodgers bought a home in Malibu a few years ago for $28 million. Former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady paid $25 million for a property in Miami and then promptly demolished the existing home on it and started building a new 17,000 square foot mansion. I feel like my house is plenty big enough and you could fit about five of my houses in that house.

Are there any downsides to being a football star? Yes. A lack of privacy, constant risk of life-altering injury for starters, NFL players, for example, a much greater risk of suffering repeated and severe head injuries and ended up with life-altering brain damage than most of the rest of us. I don't think I'd trade my brain for fame and money. In the past couple of decades, researchers and the public have become more and more aware of a phenomenon known as CTE, chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

A brain disease found in athletes, military veterans, and others with a history of repetitive brain trauma. In CTE, experts believe a structural protein in neurons malfunctions and causes adjacent proteins to also malfunction, setting off a chain reaction that leads to the loss of a lot of brain cells. It's similar to what happens with the brain experiences Alzheimer's or dementia. And being a football player places you at an exorbitant risk for CTE way more than the average person.

One study found that 9% of athletes who played contact sports, even if only at the high school level, will experience at least some CTE compared to around 3% of the population in general. NFL players, a 2017 study of the autopsies of 376 former players found that 91.7 of them had some level of CTE. 91.7% compared to 3%. What does that really mean? It means that thousands of football players are probably right now running around with

less executive function, including working memory, planning and abstract reasoning than the average person. And it means that thousands of incredibly strong athletes are more prone to impulsive, violent behavior on and off the field. Recent research suggests that individuals with CTE are predisposed to increased, impulsive, aggressive, and anti-social behavior due to damage to putative morality associated with neurobiological circuits. That was a mouthful. The link between CTE and violence has been thus far most famously displayed, infamously displayed,

in the case of Aaron Hernandez. On June 26, 2013, the nation awoke to the side of the star-tide end on one of the NFL's most winning franchises Being escorted out of his house by the police in handcuffs The New England Patriot was charged later that day with the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd whose body been found six days earlier near Hernandez's home. What was going on? How could a young man he was only 23 who seemed to have it all a dude who had just signed a $40 million contract had a beautiful fiance and a baby, throw away everything for such a random, needless and cruel act.

Odin hadn't even done anything to him. So today we'll learn what led to this murder. Aaron had been violent and impulsive for a long time before he killed Odin Lloyd. Odin wasn't the first friend he'd shot over nothing. He had terrible impulse control. He was paranoid. He was constantly worried that people were out to get him, that people were disrespecting him, extremely moody. He could be sweet, funny, one minute full of inexplicable

rage the next. He was also obsessed with being seen as a tough guy, the toughest of the tough guys, a gangster, a real man, a man's man. And he'd also grown accustomed to having all of his mistakes being swept under the rug because he was so damn good at football. He'd rarely ever had to face the music for any of his terrible actions. So, so many different factors over many, many years led to Aaron becoming the monster he became. How big of a factor was CTE in this transformation? Researchers who studied his brain after he died said his was the worst case of CTE they had ever seen

in someone so young. The toughness that made him a star tight end also led directly to his self-destruction. Talk about a double-edged sword. The sad, crazy, tragic, and captivating story of Aaron Hernandez today on a wide world of sports meets the fucked up world of murder just because you can dodge would-be tacklers on the field doesn't mean you can keep evading

the police off of it. Gridiron edition of Time Suck. This is Michael McDonald and you're listening to Time Suck. You're listening to Time Suck. We're happy Monday meet sacks and welcome to the cult of the curious I'm Dan Cummins suck anator 5000 satanic daycare defender which hunt mediator and you are listening to time suck hail Nimrod hail this Athena praise be to good boy both jangles and glory be triple M thanks to those of you who have already listened to my recent appearance on Ryan Sickler's Honeydew podcast, so fun. He is such a great interviewer. Such a good

hang. We laughed a lot. Recorded that one back in December along with some other shows. If you're here because of the Honeydew, thank you. And if you haven't listened to the Honeydew, you should. Ryan is awesome. And also had my episode come out where I was on Whitney Cummings. Good for you podcast. So fun. I've known her for a long time and I really respected her. I was just glad to finally get down to LA during the same trip I was doing the honeydew and chat with her.

She is so smart, very funny, very quick mind and just does shit her own way. I also pretty sure a bug flew into my mouth and I ate it during the recording of that podcast. So that was, that was the first. Please check her super fun show out as well. And if you're here from that, we'll also thank you so much. And last thing, bunch of new exciting merch coming out soon that will be out at badmagicproductions.com. Yes, we finally launched a new website. A lot of cool new merch showing up soon, such as...

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Take us in the story the sweet sweet Nemrod Real simple structure for today's big old suck meat sacks gonna spend a few minutes discussing what CTE is and how it's linked to Football players and then we're off in Aaron's timeline, starting with his birth and ending with the results of his autopsy after death. Uh, also from time to time, I may hit this button and you will love it. That's nice. Every day with his dude. every day with this dude. We didn't have a clue.

Girl was in our house. She said, please help me get out. They give away. You gotta love that. If you've kept up with the NFL for the last couple of decades, you've probably heard the acronym CTE thrown around. But what exactly is CTE? How does it work?

Well, chronic traumatic encephalop, is a brain condition thought to be linked to repeated head injuries and blows to the head, slowly gets worse over time and leads to a form of dementia. The right help and support can manage the symptoms, but sadly, just like with dementia, they never really go away. Early symptoms of CTE may not be noticeable at first. It's a sneaky and city-ess fucker. Initial symptoms may include subtle mood changes, mild depression or maybe suicidal thoughts,

little personality and behavior changes such as increased aggression, mood swings. As the condition gets worse, you'll have more noticeable problems with thinking and memory like short-term memory loss, confusion, difficulties with planning and organization and problems with movements. Symptoms usually start gradually, often after around 10 years of enduring repeated head injuries, and stay the same before they get worse. While CTE is now synonymous with American football, it was first identified in a different type of athlete.

Boxers. CTE was first described in 1928 when Dr. Harrison Martland characterized a group of boxers as having what he called punch drunk syndrome Uh, they just seemed as he would so famously say Kind of dumb and shit like dumber than the normal boxer Like we all know boxers are pretty fucking dumb, right? And then he famously add these punch drunk boxers are like the fucking dumbest of an Already dumb group of people like think of the five dumbest people we've ever met and the least dumbest of those people as a smart boxer and the dumbest those five is the punch drunk syndrome nikkaboop son of a bitch that I'm talking about after he said that direct quote information would come out regarding Dr. Martlin's parents

both of them being beaten to death by different boxers and separate unrelated incidents which is why he likely had such an axe to grind against boxers in separate unrelated incidents, which is why he likely had such an axe to grind against boxers. None of that happened, you know that. Except Dr. Martland. Realizing taking a lot of hard shots of the head over a period of many years sure seemed to scramble dudes' brain eggs quite a bit. Over the next 75 years, several researchers reported similar findings in boxers and other victims' brain trauma. And then in 2005, pathologist, Dr. Bennett Omalu published the first evidence of CTE in an American football player, former Pittsburgh Steeler, Mike Webster. Iron Mike was the best center in the NFL for a decade. Maybe the best center ever.

Nine time pro bowler, Hall of Famer, who had four Super Bowl rings, beast of an athlete who played in more games, 220 of them than any other player in Steelers history. A tough guy, a man's man who almost never left the field for any medical reason. But maybe he should have left the field a long time before he did. He retired at the age of just 38 and after playing football nearly his whole life and taking God knows how many hard shots to the head on the offensive line, he started acting pretty fucking weird. He'd frequently forget all sorts of important shit like to eat.

He seemed confused about almost everything, like where the bathroom was or what the bathroom was. One day he just peed in the oven, which scared the shit out of his wife and kids. Another day he just wandered off, started meandering around through Pittsburgh. First and many times he would do that. He'd forget who he was, sleep under bridges, sleep at the Amtrak station or in his truck. Somehow he got to hold us some guns at one point, started walking up to

strangers and saying shit like, kill him, I'm going to kill him. Slightly terrifying for a broad shoulder, fucking wild-eyed 260 plus pound man. Uh, when his fucking teeth started to fall out, cause he forgot to take care of them, he tried to put them back in with super glue, literally super glued his teeth to his gums, once wrapped his hands with duct tape and then stuck a pen in the tape so he could write a bunch of letters, like hundreds if not thousands of letters, full of gibberish, many written to people he didn't know. He bought himself a taser gun and would zap himself on the stomach or leg over and over

until he lost consciousness to try to get some sleep. His brain was mush. He was a zombie before he passed and he died at the young age of 50. From a heart attack, autopsy was done, his brain was studied and his brain super fucked up. As in how was this guy able to even get up and walk around kind of fucked up? He had a terrible case of CTE. The publication of the autopsy findings from his brain caught the attention of Dr. Chris Nowinski, who envisioned the world's first athlete brain bank.

Nowinski began to reach out to the families of former NFL players and other athletes who had recently passed away to arrange brain donations. He and Dr. Robert Cantu soon founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation and partnered with Boston University and the US Department of Veterans Affairs to form the Unite Brain Bank, which has now studied the brains

of more than 1,300 athletes and veterans. And others have been studying all of this as well. In 2008, research surface that was gathered by neuropathologist Ann McKee from the Bedford VA Medical Center and CTE Center of Boston University Medical Center and a doctor Anne McKee. In the case of John Grimsley, a former NFL player who died at 40, uh, should be died

at 45 from an accidental gunshot wound, Dr. McKee found that when looking at slides across sections of brains, a healthy person's slide would be white, while those who had CTE, some were between brown and black. And despite what I thought heading into this episode, how damaged your brain is does not always line up with how many concussions you've had. There's very little to no correlation between concussions and CTE. Blows to the head don't have to be that severe to cause damage. It's more about the amount of blows rather than how severe some of the blows have been. Research is suggesting it's more about, yeah, just like the volume of shots you've taken.

There's a high correlation between your CTE getting worse. The more years you play football, the more, you know, many, many, you're taking many, many more shots. A lot of medium hits, you know, might be worse for you when it comes to CTE than a few major hits. CTE has probably been around for a long time as long as humans have been fighting or play fighting, but it's only recently that we've come to start to understand it and to respond to it. In the meantime, many have suffered, many have died.

In November of 2006, former Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Andrew, excuse me, Andre Waters, went outside onto the pool deck of his Tampa home with a.32 caliber pistol and took his own life at the age of 44. Dr. Bennett Umala would also add that Waters' brain resembled that of an 85-year-old in the early stages of Alzheimer's. In 2011, former Pro Bowl safety for the Super Bowl champion in 1995, Chicago Bears Dave Dwerson, killed himself in his Florida condo.

Before he did, he wrote a long letter about his ailments. Starburst headaches, blurred vision, maddening craters in his short-term memory, helplessness getting around the towns he knew. Once a man so intelligent, he aced his finals at Notre Dame with very little study time. He found himself now having to dash down memos about what he was doing and when just to get a sense of being able to recall what he had done earlier the same day. And CTE has led to not only suicide but also to violence against others. Jovan Belcher, linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, was only 25 when he killed his girlfriend

before shooting himself in 2012 at the Chiefs Training Facility. He was found to suffer from CTE. Before he died, names, simple words, what he'd eaten for dinner the hour before, all becoming more of a challenge to remember. 25 years old. Aaron was even younger, when he murdered at least one person, and probably at least three. He was only 27 when he died, How could his brain already be so damaged? Statistically speaking, a high school lineman receives between 1,500 and 1,800 sub-concussive but still hard hits each season to the head.

That means that someone who plays four years of high school football will experience between 6,000 and 7,200 sub-concussive hits. After playing four years of college football, additionally, you know, doubling the amount of hits. After playing four years of college football, additionally, you know, doubling the amount of hits. So now we're talking about 12,000 to 14,400 hits to the head before a player has the opportunity to play in the NFL. And that's if they, you know, don't play other contact sports. Aaron played basketball through high school as well. He played aggressively. He was a big fast bruising dude. And when he got hit, he was often moving at a high rate of speed, you know, as was the guy who hit him. How warped was Aaron's mind by the time he even made

it into the NFL. But also with Aaron, if you took the CTE away, would he maybe still eventually ended up doing something similar to what he did? How big of a role did his brain damage play in his choices? Okay, one more thing now before we jump into the timeline. Are you thinking about how damaged your brain might be right now? Are you going back through your own timeline, trying to count up how many hard shots to the head you've taken, or maybe took a lot of medium shots? That's what I was doing many times going to the research. I'm still doing it. I think I'm good. But this research has not been doing wonders for my head space. Right? Did I forget some stuff this week? Because I've always been a bit forgetful or because I'm more forgetful now.

Am I more forgetful because I'm older or because I took too many shots to the head? Fucking around with some martial arts and sports and I was younger. I don't think I took that many shots to the head, but maybe I fucking forgot how many shots I took to the head because I did take so many shots to the head. I'm going to try and keep my shit together. At least feel good about making better choices than Aaron Hernandez made at least I'm not as crazy as he was I don't think but can I trust my mind? Can you trust yours? Now it's time to focus on Aaron's mind and life. He had a lot more going on than just CTE in today's time suck timeline

Shrap on those boots, soldier. We're marching down a time-sucked timeline. Aaron Joseph Hernandez was born November 6, 1989 in Bristol, Connecticut. His parents, Dennis Hernandez, of Kool, Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican descent, and his mother was Pat Sajak of dirty Polish descent. Why is randomly inserting Pat Sajak in the story so funny to me? It's so stupid. I just love him becoming this kind of weird Waldo figure in the middle of random people's lives.

Sajak actually is the name of Polish origin. But Aaron's mom, of course not Pat Sajak. His mom, Terry Valentine Hernandez of Italian descent. The couple married in 1986. Dennis had played for Bristol Central High School back in the 1970s, where he was the man. Like his son would be, he'd been a triple varsity running back, playing basketball as well as football.

For decades to come, Dennis will hold on to his high school nickname of the king. Along with his twin brother, David David Dennis got a full football scholarship to the University of Connecticut That's where football would end for both of these Hernandez brothers Like Aaron will and as you Dennis gotten to a fair amount of trouble not as much as Aaron But definitely straight from the straight narrow path as one of the only Puerto Rican kids in a hard scrabble Irish Italian town Dennis had a chip on his shoulder something to, and he proved by drinking and partying hard. And by being a tough, take-no-shit-from-anyone-man's-man, along with his brother, he got into a lot of fights.

Also, he would break into strangers' houses, steal shit from houses, steal shit from the store, that kind of stuff, surrounded by friends on the wrong side of town. Both twins would end up dropping out of Yukon. But soon after dropping out, the twins would both work to turn their lives around. But when the Aaron would have done the same. Dennis got a job as a janitor at Bristol Eastern, and then Dennis's wife, Pat Sajek, or Terry, who'd been a major at a few years behind him at Bristol Central, became an administrative assistant at Bristol Elementary School. The young couple scrimped and saved to buy... Sorry, so stupid I can't get the image of Pat Sageyak being Aaron's mom out of my mind now. I fucked myself over. The young couple scrimped and saved to buy a cottage on Greystone Avenue. They'd have two boys, Dennis, John, or DJ, in 1986 and then Aaron in 1989. Growing up, Aaron shared a bedroom with DJ for most of his childhood.

Boys were super close. They loved playing in the woods behind their house in the finished basement. Our dad's workout equipment in the summers, they splashed around in the in-ground pool, use a basketball court down the street. Pretty idyllic. At least it sounds idyllic, but it wasn't all happy. When the kids were very young, Dennis drank a lot. It was pretty abusive physically. Smacked the boys around for doing like, you know, little shit like spilling

some milk. When the boys got older, he could be overbearing. It wasn't as abusive, but he pushed his boys real hard, maybe too hard, maybe pushed him to do what he and his brother weren't able to do, become star athletes who would not peak in high school. When he perceived that his sons weren't doing, doing well enough in school or in football, he would discipline them severely. Uh, once Aaron went to school with the bruise around his eye and his coach believed he'd been punched in the face by his dad. And so when his dad would run football drills with him, if you like, uh, you

know, drop the pass, it was a hundred pushups or something else equally grueling failure, not an option. Uh, you know, Aaron would talk about how his dad pushed him yet, real, real hard. Very high expectations. And Aaron would, you know, grow up desperate to live up to his dad's expectations. He so wanted to please his dad. Definitely a daddy's boy. Aaron will later get tattoos on his arm honoring his father with some of his dad's favorite quotes

like self-made spider web that represented something his father told him, spiders create their own path. I make my own decisions. Don't blame anyone another one was if it is If it is to be it is up to me And then there was the difference between the impossible and the possible lies on a person's determination and Finally, no one's fucking sexier than past a joke Sorry That was a hard-headed guy cared a lot about his sons very involved and also like Aaron later And finally, no one's fucking sexier than Pat Sajak. No, sorry. His dad was a hard-headed guy, cared a lot about his sons, very involved.

And also, like Aaron later, he was a huge hothead. One of Aaron's coaches got evidence of Dennis' temper firsthand when Dennis punched him in the fucking face. After a dispute about coaching methods, that's pretty hardcore. How many times did Dennis hit Aaron? How many times, you know, however many times it was, sorry, I didn't seem to make Aaron hate him. He, like I said, he worshipped his father. Did hate another abuser, though, an abuser that has never been named.

According to a few people close to him, Aaron was sexually molested as a child. A teenage boy in his baby sister's house forced Hernandez to perform oral sex on him, beginning when Hernandez was six years old and continuing for several years. So a lot of sexual abuse that started when he was very young. And Aaron Wood it seems never really learned how to process this abuse. He never got therapy about it, almost never talked about it. And later when he'd exhibit sexual interest in men, when he'd have a homosexual relationships with men, he was extremely conflicted about this abuse.

He apparently worried that it had somehow made him gay, which enraged him because he was also homophobic, right? Terrible combo. He was raised by a hyper masculine father who was part of a local culture that was aggressively homophobic. To be gay was to be a bitch, a pussy, weak, not a real man. His dad tossed around gay slurs a lot apparently. And according

to DJ Dennis raised his boys to think that seeking help was weak. Crying was weak. You do not express emotions other than laughter when you're busting somebody's balls, joy or maybe kicking ass in sports or anger when some fool disrespects you. The rest of the emotional spectrum, now that's, that's gay shit. That's women's shit. That's bitch shit. Think about what all this may have done to Aaron Psyche. He's raised by his father, who thinks to be gay is to be fucking weak, embarrassing, less than, and he loves his dad more than anyone. Respected the hell out of his father. Numerous people after Aaron's death will speak to how much Aaron craved, no, no, needed his dad's approval. And he knew that if his dad found out he was gay, he would despise him, might actually

disown him. At the very least, he would never ever respect him as a real man again. And Aaron was molested for years by another dude. Did he internalize a bunch of shame and self-loathing? Right? I think it was his fault, maybe. Think that, uh, his weakness let it happen. Did he hate himself for feeling weak?

Did he overcompensate for these feelings by proving how much of a fucking real ass man he was by beating the shit out of other dudes by being this big tough gangster who wouldn't hesitate to kill some other fucker over slight disrespect later in life real or perceived? Maybe Maybe Aaron CTE had very little to do with his later self-destructive choices Or maybe CTE was the flame that lit the fuse of this bomb that CTE did not create Jumping back into his childhood and 2001 Aaron's mom Terry Did not say Pat's age I got proud of myself would be arrested for her involvement in a bookkeeping operation run by a local restaurant manager named Marty

Hovanzian The operation was serious enough that Hovanzian was convicted of felony racketeering. The case against Terry never went to trial, but in Bristol's close knit community, the whole town knew about Terry's arrest. Aaron was 12 at that time, pretty innocent, outgoing kid like pranks, practical jokes.

He and DJ would be teased about this incident a lot. How much did that affect his later choices? Right? If his parents felt okay about making money illegally, would that make him feel more comfortable stepping outside the law to do or get what he wanted? Aaron's relationship with his mom now begins to grow strained. Meanwhile, Aaron's father, Dennis, kind of like Fritz von Erich from a few weeks ago, pushes his athletically talented boys to remain focused on sports. Right?

Catch that rock brother! Drop passes or for Baker's brother! Go Baker! Get the fuck out of the way! Losing is for Loser's brother! Woo! Now, it's a lot of fucking let's go! Attitude around the house.

As Aaron entered his last year of middle school, there was no doubt that he would be joining DJ on the BCHS, Foresty Squad. He was big, fast, strong. His football game was exceptional. By high school, Aaron was a quadruple threat athlete. He ran track, was the best player on the school's basketball team. He had speed, dexterity, good reach, great hands.

On the basketball court, his dunks were legendary. When he played baseball, he was a solid pitcher. And on the football field, he ducked, dodged, stuttered step like somebody much older than he was. And Dennis was there on the sidelines, cheering ducked Dodge Stutterstep like somebody much older than he was. And Dennis was there on the sidelines, cheering him on throughout all of this. And maybe living vicariously through him and his brother DJ a bit. Yeah, Aaron phenomenally, athletically gifted. At an NFL pro day years later, he would bench press 225 pounds for 30 reps in one second.

He'd run in the low 4.6 seconds in the 40 yardyard dash and he did this at 6'2, 250 pounds of solid muscle. DJ who preceded Aaron is a superstar player for the Rams was heading off to Yukon where he'd be a two-year team captain, excuse me, and would start three seasons of quarterback and then two more seasons of wide receiver for the Huskies. Aaron's father and uncle, both, you know, again, played football for Yukon. They were overjoyed that DJ was following the family tradition. And while DJ is kicking ass in college, Aaron is getting some ass in high school.

And he'll keep this secret from his family. Actually, he'd been getting ass since before DJ left. Since sometime around seventh grade, he'd been in an on-again, off-again, exploratory sexual relationship with another student, a boy named Dennis Sansucci. In Killer Inside, a Netflix docu-series on the Hernandez story, Sansucci described his years-long friendship with Hernandez, which first began platonically. The two were an excellent duo on the football field, with Sansucci playing quarterback, Hernandez as his tight end, off the field, they smoke weed together and they mess around.

quarterback Hernandez as his tight end off the field they smoke weed together and they messed around says Sansuchi. We used to horse play. That was our thing. We used to love horse playing and having fun with each other because we're just kids full of life. Well, at some point that horse played turned romantic. Sansuchi said Aaron and I had an on and off relationship from the seventh grade to junior year of high school.

They participated with many people. I was a small piece of Aaron's sexual activity. San Suu Kyi said neither of them saw it as a real relationship. But looking back on it, that's probably what it was. They were careful not to get caught knowing that would lead to a lot of problems from other kids at school and also from their families. September of 2005, an ugly incident

occurs at Yukon, a Yukon football game that embarrasses and enrages the shit out of Aaron. Another Hernandez family secret, uh, now becomes no longer a secret. Aaron's mom, Terry, uh, also became romantically involved with a married man named... Pat, f**k, and Sagey. I'd like to solve the puzzle, Pat, homewrecker! Is that it, Pat? Is that f**king it? No. Now I'm introducing Pat as a different character in the story. No, she become involved with a married man named Jeffrey Cummings He was married to Tanya the daughter of Dennis's sister Ruth which made Aaron and Tanya first cousins This is real awkward

Now while DJ is playing in the game Tanya Cummings gets up and Terry's face says some choice words and slaps her in the face in The stands in front of numerous other family members and whoever happened to be sitting in the same area. Big drama. Terry's affair with Jeffrey Cummins is now public knowledge. Aaron's home life, not good, right? He, his father, his brother, all furious with Terry. And then just a few months later before Dennis and Terry can fully decide if they're either going to reconcile, you know, or part ways, a much bigger tragedy strikes.

January 6, 2006, Dennis Hernandez out of nowhere dies at the age of 49. He wasn't sick. He just underwent this routine procedure for a hernia repair and immediately afterward, he contracted a fatal and fast acting bacterial infection. And that is fucking weak, dude! Fucking what?

Come on, Dennis, Dennis you loser walk it off Practice what you preach you sickly weak little cry baby pussy who lets bacteria take him out fucking losers That's who you get it DJ was 19 Aaron was 16 and this would wreck him some like his brother will think this is the incident that sent Aaron down a path He'll never return from right That it broke something inside of him. At the funeral, DJ would break down crying. Aaron did not. He had trouble expressing his grief. He was so used to hiding his real feelings by this point. Right? Push it down. Be a man. Sometimes we men have slight

allergic reactions to shit, but we don't cry. I've never cried in my life. Not once. I know I have year round allergies, which affect a lot of us tough guys. Uh, DJ will later say that following Dennis's death is when Aaron began smoking weed daily, maybe selling it as well. And he started hanging out with a rougher crowd when he's not playing football. He seemed lost. He also starts kicking more ass than ever in sports, almost as if he partly played to honor his dad's wishes for him to excel in the field.

The night after his father's funeral, Aaron will score 30 points in a basketball game against Windsor. The following night, in a game against South Windsor, he scores 31. And when that year's football season came, he was fucking unstoppable. As a junior, he'd set the state record for receiving yards in a single game. 376, seventh best in national high school history. He'd also set a national high school record for receiving yards per game for a receiving yards per game average of 180.7. That's insane.

He averaged over 180 yards a game. That's a tight end. As a senior, Aaron would tie the state record for career touchdowns and win Connecticut's Gatorade Football Player of the Year after making 67 receptions for 1,807 yards and 24 touchdowns on office and 72 tackles, 12 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and four blocked kicks on defense. The 1,807 receiving yards, 24 touchdowns, also state records. Hernandez is 31 touchdowns tied the state record. Sorry, the same amount of touchdowns.

I don't know why you just changed that. It was 24. And he yeah, also state record. Hernandez is 30. Sorry, God, my God, I keep fucking saying the same thing. He played aggressively and he took a ton of shots to the head During one game in 2006 Hernandez took a blindside hit to the head so hard He was knocked out cold and an ambulance had to take him off the field. He's back the very next game Also, Nash recognized already projected to be an NFL star He was a US Army all-american high school football All-Star, who participated in the All-American Bowl as the Allodome in San Antonio, Texas. Two national ranking services

would rate him as the nation's number one tight end prospect. And now Aaron had to decide where he'd play college football. Aaron initially made a verbal agreement with Yukon's coach Randy Edsall. He told fans and reporters he could not wait to play football with his brother DJ again, but by his senior season scouts from powerhouse programs like the Florida Gators, He told fans and reporters he could not wait to play football with his brother DJ again, but by his senior season scouts from powerhouse programs like the Florida Gators were beginning to show up at Aaron's games. Right. Publicly, he seemed to have everything going for him destined to be a huge success.

Privately, starting to exhibit, you know, some real self-destructive tendencies. He started following his dad's death, you know, as I mentioned earlier, you know, kind of hanging out with a rough crowd, hanging out on the wrong side of the tracks. You go to a house on Lake Avenue that belonged to a man who he considered family, Tito Valarama, aka Uncle Tito, who had married Dennis and Dennis's sister Ruth. There he bonded with his cousin Tanya, the woman who had slapped Terry at DJ's Yukon game. So he's taken her side, also grew close to Thaddeus TL Singleton, a drug dealer Tanya had taken up with after Cummings left her

for Terry Hernandez. Had his mom not had her affair with the husband of one of her son's cousins, would Aaron have ever bonded with these people? How big of a part did her mom's affair play in completely changing the trajectory of her son's life? Also if his dad would have still been around to keep his son in line, would any of this have happened, right? Why did fucking Dennis have to be such a weak-ass bitch? Disgusting! Not a real

man! Real men are indestructible! You fucking weak fucking piece of shit! Uh, Aaron's other new best friends were a drug and good time loving young man named Carlos Ortiz, three years older than Aaron and a dude 18 years older than Aaron. That's not good. Ernest Bo Wallace. Why is Bo Wallace hanging out with high schoolers when he's in his mid 30s? He was believed to have ties to a Bristol gang called the Dewop Boys, affiliated with Bloods. Aaron's coaches, hearing rumors of his new friends and seeing the first of some tattoos

that sure looked like they might be gang related, begin to grow worried. Then on April 23rd, 2006, Aaron makes a decision that shocks his brother, DJ. Three months after his father's death, Aaron announces his intention to back out of the verbal agreement he had made as a sophomore with Husky's coach Randy Edsall and instead go to Florida. Florida Gators were a team who had just played the national championship. Right just in January, the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to Nebraska after winning the SEC, a team that seemed poised to make another run at being a national champion.

Coach Urban Meyer, one of the most famous college coaches ever, had seen videos of Hernandez playing and was real impressed. He wasn't a big slow tight end, but a number one who could effectively fill a lot of roles on the field. The guy who saw the field and read the defense more like a quarterback or a running back. In April, the Gators flew Aaron down for a meeting. Down in Gainesville, the Gators freshman quarterback was about to become a man about to become a college football sensation, Tim Tebow, was show Aaron around the campus in football stadium. Sitting beside Heisman Trophy candidate starting quarterback Chris Leake,

Aaron took in a baseball game. He met with the team's other coaches who had done their best to convince head coach, Irvin Meyer, that Aaron was truly special. By the end of the weekend, Aaron had decided he was going to be a gator. Aaron knew that if he joined the right college team, an NFL contract could be his. And he may have wanted to get away from his mom in Connecticut. According to an anonymous family friend, Aaron started to get mad at the dumb things that Terry was doing. That same friend said that Aaron's desire to get away from his mother is, quote,

what really drove the Florida decision. He wanted to get the fuck away from her. She'd been a problem for a long time. Aaron saw Terry as tarnishing the Hernandez name and his father's, you know, memory and he wanted to help untarnish it In December of 2006 Aaron graduates a semester early so he can head down to Florida and prepare for the next chapter of his life At 6-1, 245 pounds He was arguably the best athlete the Bristol Central had ever produced in January of 2007 The University of Florida's second ranked football team trounced the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to win the BCS national championship game. The Gators were on top of college football.

They'd won the equivalent of the Super Bowl. When Hernandez arrived in Gainesville that month, the Gators were national heroes and local gods. Aaron had just turned 17 and he was overwhelmed by it all. He'd never left Connecticut before. He was still deeply affected by his father's weak ass death. Aaron actually almost quit the program at least a dozen times, but head coach Irvin Meyer, counseled him through it, as he would put it. Irvin will later say, when your guy, your idol, your soul is taken from you, how do you deal with that? I just think

there was a part of his life that was not there. He needed discipline. He needed someone to talk to. Urban tried to be that guy, but he had a lot of kids on his program. He couldn't be the father figure. Aaron craved. Urban would also say there were times he would melt down in my office, break down and start sobbing about his dad. How much he missed him. It happened so fast he never had a chance to say goodbye.

Right? Dude was privately struggling a lot. Out in public, Aaron was careful not to let the softer side of himself show. Dad would have not approved. A few months after Aaron's arrival in Florida, an ugly off-campus incident provides a glimpse of the demons lurking just beneath the surface. Before we explore this little taste of the senseless violence that is to come, this feels like the best spot this week for our first of two mid-show sponsor breaks.

Thanks for sticking around, now let's learn about Aaron's first known taste of dishing out some truly senseless violence and getting away with it. It was midnight on the last Friday in April, Aaron was upstairs at the iconic campus restaurant in Barr called the Swamp. I've heard of this place and I've never even been to Gainesville. Drinking lemonade with Tim Tebow hanging out with his new friend Sean Young, a tennis player who was the only one of the three who was old enough to drink alcohol. Since classes were done and finals had yet to start, the swamp

was overflowing with students. Most of them fucking hammered. Before long a waitress appears with two shots, someone had sent over. Nobody would card Aaron. He looked almost 30. He was on the Gator football team, which meant that in Gainesville, you know, you can do pretty much whatever you want. Aaron never really cared that much about alcohol. He liked weed a lot more, but you know, when in Rome, he dumps the shots the waitress brought over into his lemonade. About an hour later, around one in the morning, after some more drinks, he

goes downstairs to head out and as Aaron makes his way towards the exit, a manager stops him and waves the bill for $12. What about this? The manager says. Tim Tebow and Sean Young would both later say that the manager, Michael Tapworm, was real aggressive, like needlessly aggressive. Tapworm got right up in Hernandez's face. They recalled it was I rate over this $12 unpaid bill. Tebow, ever the peacekeeper, stepped in to resolve what was rapidly turning into a conflict. A woman standing nearby offered to pay Aaron's bill, but Taphorn ignored her, also waved Tebow off, and ordered Hernandez out of the bar

with some choice words. That's one version of the story. Others said the situation went down differently. That Aaron acted like a pompous, entitled asshole, announced cockily that he didn't have to pay for shit in this town. All parties agree that Hernandez walked outside of the bar with Taphorn following close on his heels. Then accounts again diverge. According to Hernandez, Taphorn got up in his face and was unnecessarily aggressive. But according to Taphorn, Hernandez was the aggressor,

pushed him a few times on their way out of the bar. Then standing on the gray wooden patio, when Taphorn refused to just let Hernandez walk out on his bill, Aaron was done with his dude. He sucker punched me. Taphorn would later tell the police. Following throwing this punch and dropping Taphorn, Hernandez bolted, actually lost one of his shoes and left to behind as he ran away. Taphorn was hit hard enough to have his left ear drum ruptured, an injury that would take six weeks to heal.

And Taphorn knew exactly who hit him. The freshman tied in, Taphorn told Sergeant Roe of the Gainesville Police Department. After taking a manager's statement, Roe placed a call to Tim Tebow, who is FYI 19. It will be in Hernandez's best interest to give us his side of the story, he told him, and Tebow agreed. Tebow seemed relieved when Sergeant Rowe went on to assure him that no one would alert the press and that his own name would be kept out of the media regarding the incident. Two hours later, three in the morning, Rowe gets called back. Hernandez, Tebow, Young, all wait and form a few blocks away from campus. Upon arrival, the Sergeant informs Hernandez of his Miranda rights,

and then Hernandez still chooses to tell his side of the story. He tells the Sergeant, he didn't know that the woman who had brought in the shots was a waitress. He thought she was a fan, and that they were already paid for. And since he never ordered the drinks or even liked them, he didn't understand why he should be asked to pay for them. Hernandez said that Taphorn had kept advancing on him when he tried to leave. Aaron called out to Tebow for help, then outside the bar just to get tap horn out of

his face, uh, who he felt was menacing him. Yeah, he threw a punch. Ro was impressed with this young man. Hernandez was plight, professional, seemed to be sober. Ro decided to get in charge of him with underage drinking. That was a matter of the university could handle internally, but still you can't sucker punch a dude like that. Not legally.

Aaron was, uh, possibly still going to have to face a felony battery charge. Then coach Irvin Meyer gets involved. Over the next few days, several people, all of them working for Meyer in some capacity that nobody seemed to be able to describe exactly, called up Michael Taphorn and explained to him in ways never fully revealed to anyone publicly that it would be best for him and everyone else if all of this just went away. Did they bribe him?

Yeah, maybe. In the end, Taphorn changed his mind about pressing charges. Hernandez was supposed to come back to the bar to apologize to him personally, but never did. Meyer also now allegedly assigned Tim Tebow to keep a closer eye on Aaron. What he probably should have done in hindsight was letting him face some music, right? Suspend him for a few games, punish him. If he would have felt like his football career was in jeopardy over this incident, maybe just maybe he would have exhibited more self-control in future incidents, made better choices. What if he'd been forced to undergo a bunch of

anger management counseling? Maybe he would have taken to therapy. But instead, all he learned here, and it's the lesson I imagine he already instead all he learned here is that the rules are different for you when you're a star athlete. If you're good enough on the field, you can get away with a lot of shit off of it. September 29, 2007. The Gators lose 2017 to the Auburn Tigers. Aaron played in the game, wanted to blow off some steam afterwards. That night he goes to a night club called Venue.

Venue was a relatively new club in Gainesville but had already become a favorite with UF's football players. It was a guest of honor that night, a former gator named Reggie Nelson, who was in all American safety. Nelson was now in the NFL. He'd been the Jacksonville Jaguars first pick in that year's draft. He got a bonus for over $5 million, a signing bonus. Down from Jacksonville, he was riding high in venue's VIP booth. Chris Harris, another save to, had been drafted by the Chicago Bears in 2005, was with him. Mike and Marquis Pounsey, two big dudes, who both will play in the NFL as 300-ish pound centers,

were also there, along with several other players and soon to be players. Bouncers knew that the Pounsey twins were always looking for a fight. So were two big scrappy locals, Justin Glass and Randall Cason. Words and menacing glares were exchanged between the parties. Some will later say that shit escalated into a fight when one of the football players reached out, tried to grab a chain, gold chain.

Uh, Cason was wearing around his neck. Reggie Nelson would say that when he arrived at the club, Aaron Hernandez told him that Cason had snatched the chain from one of the Pouncy's. According to him, the club b Aaron Hernandez told him that Kaysen had snatched the chain from one of the pounces. According to Ham, the club bouncer, it was Justin Glass, not Kaysen, who got into a confrontation with the pounces. So who fucking knows who started it? The only thing everybody seemed to agree on was that somebody's chain was taken from

them. Ham would say that one of the twins approached Glass and said, I want my mother fucking chain. What chain? Glass replied, I ain't got no damn chain. At that point, Ham said, club security escorted both of the Pouncy twins out of the club and also ejected Glass.

Pouncy twins will later say that afterward, out in the club parking lot, a quote, black man who had snatched a chain away from Mike Pouncy, had taunted them, tugging at his shirt as if to indicate to the gators that he had a gun in his waistband. The accounts varied, but everyone agreed that in the parking lot Reggie Nelson stepped in to diffuse the increasingly tense situation getting in

between the Pounchy twins and these locals. Nelson knew Randall Kacen and said that he didn't want any trouble. Kacen told him that the chaining question had already been given away. Kacen and Nelson will end up shaking hands and hugging. Then Kacen and his friends take off in the friend Corey Smith's car. The football players take off in their cars. Erin Hernandez goes with him. And the whole affair appears to many to end right there peacefully. But as it turned out, shit had just gotten started.

Leaving venue, Glass, Kasin and Smith drive down University Avenue, head to see a couple of women that they knew. Oh, fuck yeah, bro. Justin Glass driving a Crown Vic on the floor next to him, hidden under a black t-shirt, is a gun, a Torus 9 millimeter that had been stolen from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. Oh fuck no, bro. Probably not a great place to steal a gun from. Randall Kasin's in the back seat on the floor under his foot. He has a Smith and Wesson 40 caliber pistol, a gun from which the serial number had already been filed off oh extra fuck no bro not a great look if you get caught Cory Smith is unarmed Randall Cason

will later say as they continue driving down University he suddenly spotted Reggie Nelson's Tahoe few cars behind logically he assumes they're being followed but since they're the red light with a car in front of them they can't do shit about it at the moment. Then Randall notices two men on the sidewalk, Reggie Nelson, and the freshman tied in, Aaron Hernandez. Kacen will claim that Hernandez walked up to the Crown Vic, looked inside the passenger window.

Then Kacen says Hernandez raised his hand, shoved a gun through the open car window, and just started pulling the trigger. Oh my god! Kacen yells as blood splatters all over the crown vicks upholstery. Corsten Smith's body slumps forward, glass yells out, he's been shot, also been shot. Glass then jumped out of the car, Kacen jumped out after him, gun in hand, a bottle of Coors Light that Kacen had been holding fell out of the car, rolled and rolled on the street as Kacen yelled, you killed my friend!

Hernandez was allegedly already too far away to hear him, through a Holiday Inn parking lot headed towards McDonald's. Nelson also appeared to have fled, but Kasein could see the Tahoe. Somebody else must have been driving it now, heading northbound on 13th. At that very moment, a stranger in some other car tosses a full pack of black cat firecrackers out into the street. The firecrackers pop and smoke on the pavement, pedestrians out on the sidewalk, ducks, fucking chaos, drivers piling out of their cars, shouting, pointing in every direction.

Corey appeared to be dead, but was not, close but not quite, just badly wounded. He'd taken a bullet to the fucking brain and glass took a bullet to the arm. They rushed to Shann's hospital where doctors quickly find that the bullet had exploded part of Corey's brain. If he did make it to surgery, it was very unclear if he would ever talk or walk again. Doctors spent hours removing the bullet fragments, performing what's called a bone flap procedure,

sewing part of Corey's skull that had been removed into his stomach, where it will remain for the next nine months. It's fucking crazy. I've never heard of that one. After a surgery, Corey is wheeled in the hospital's trauma unit where Sandra, his mom, is finally allowed to see him. Corey is already coming too. Miraculously, he seemed to recognize his family and he's able to speak. So much tougher than Dennis Hernandez. Holy shit!

That's how you take a shot to the brain if you're a real man. You walk that shit off. Real men don take a shot to the brain. If you're a real man, you walk that shit off real men Don't even fucking need their brains just muscles and a hard dick Anyway Sandra asked him who had shot him and Corey told her that two men had been involved Then to indicate the skin tone of one of the men Corey started to flip his hand over from front to back Right, it was like this. He said showing the palm of his hand then he flipped his hand over from front to back. Right. It was like this, he said, showing the palm of his hand. Then he flipped his hand around, not this.

To make sure Sandra understood, he flipped his hand over again and showed his palm. He was this color. Corey said, light skinned like Aaron Hernandez. Meanwhile, detectives were now trying to piece together what had happened. Patty Nixon would lead the investigation, having been told over her police radio that the shooter was 64 or 63 240 pounds, and Hawaiian or Hispanic. The size and the look fit Aaron pretty well other than the height. Real well.

He was 6'1, but when you're looking up out of a car window to big dude, and if he's wearing high tops, which he likely was, you know, he would appear to be 6'3. After interviewing Kasen, Patty Nixon calls UF police detective Brian Norman, who gave her the number for coach Irvin Myers' personal assistant, John Clark. By 6.30 in the morning, Nixon had Clark on the line. She has Clark if he was aware of any white, Hispanic, or Hawaiian men that the Poundsey twins hung out with. Clark gave the detective one and only one name, Aaron Hernandez.

Soon, as she spoke to more university employees, though, she began to feel like she was getting stonewalled, like they were covering for Aaron. They'd tell her they'd call her back and then never call. When she'd call them back, they'd say, oh, sorry, we were busy. The circumstances were a bit different. She might have been able to go arrest Hernandez, but Randall Cason was the only witness positive that Hernandez was involved. Corey wasn't sure. The shooter, according to some other eyewitnesses, was a black male 5'8 with cornrows. Obviously, that person looks nothing like Aaron Hernandez. Still, when Kasin pointed Hernandez out from a photo lined up, Nixon had to do something. Nixon called John Clark yet again, told him she needed to question Hernandez

along with the Pouncy Twins. Clark told him the players were being called into the football office and would be brought to the station after that Were they called into the office to make sure everybody got their story straight? I know big college sports programs are notorious for covering for and enabling athletes Would they help cover for an attempted murder? Nixon called Clark several more times that morning Then around 10 another one of Irvin Myers assistants a man named Hiram Defrize Finally brings the Pound Cityins and Hernandez down to the station. This is four and a half hours after Nixon originally made her request. Were they being coached on what to say for that entire time?

Mike and Marquis Pouncy, Aaron Hernandez are placed in separate interview rooms. Aaron almost immediately, this is so weird to me, starts dozing off. Dude just fell asleep. Didn't seem to have a care in the world. It was like he knew he would just get away with it. All three would describe the initial altercation inside the club, but said that they had left after Reggie Nelson intervened in the parking lot. Both twins told Nixon that after the incident, they accompanied Nelson and Aaron Hernandez to a campus apartment belonging to their friend, Gator cornerback Marcus Anderson.

Then after 20 or 30 minutes at Anderson's place, they went to get some food at this checker's drive-through. That would have been about 2 30 in the morning. Afterward, they went back to Hernandez or excuse me, went back to Anderson's apartment. Uh, there was just one discrepancy between the twin statements. Marquis said that the Hernandez, uh, said that Hernandez had been with them the whole time while Mike said Hernandez had left the checkers before them around 3 in the morning. Reggie Nelson was also interviewed. According to Nelson, the group had left the parking lot on good terms, had with some other players to Marcus's campus apartment, away from the school's football stadium.

Would Aaron's story be the same? Well, they didn't get that far. When interviewed, Aaron immediately lawyered up at six that evening. Nixon then picks Randall case on up at his apartment and asked to interview him again. Down at the station, case admitted that he had assumed Hernandez was a shooter, assumed because of the incident at the club. But now, Casey said that he really hadn't seen anything. He bawled himself up inside the Crown Vic, trying not to get shot, you know, didn't get a good look at the shooter. By the end end of the interview case and rescinded his initial identification of Aaron Hernandez and Reggie Nelson and blame the chain snatching on somebody else entirely one of his boys case and said The attempted murder case was now dead in the water. So did somebody get to case and bribe him? Maybe threaten him?

Maybe That fallen winner Nixon will make several more attempts to interview Kacen and Glass, hoping they will give more information about the shooter. Uh, she'll re-interview the Poundchy twins as well, but none of it gets her anywhere. If Aaron really did shoot two dudes and get away with it, like a lot of people think he did here, he's got to feel fucking invincible. Right.

He doesn't have to pay the piper. The police can't touch him. Meanwhile, the Gators will go on to play games, business as usual. Playing against Kentucky Wildcats, October of 2007, Tebow separates his right shoulder but continues to play, beating a tackler and running in the winning touchdown. Tebow was actually a super tough football player. That dude once played over half a game in high school on a broken leg, snapped his fibula, could feel it moving around as he was running and played through the pain, ran a fucking touchdown in, won the game.

Hernandez also scored in this game. His first touchdown as a college player. Irvin Meyer thought I could see Tebow's influence rubbing off on his other tie, on this tight end. Meyer hoped he was influencing him as well, you know, personally. The two met at 7 30 AM most mornings for a quick Bible study, but none of that was this tight end. Myer hoped he was influencing him as well. You know, personally, the tube met at 7.30 AM most mornings for a quick Bible study. But none of that was doing shit. Aaron was just getting better at appearing to be, you know, who others, you know, expected

him or wanted him to be to get what he wanted. I'm not sure anybody knew the real Aaron. Maybe Aaron didn't know the real Aaron. Such a conflicted chameleon. Several clubs in the area had listed the players names and instructions to let all of them in. Aaron was irregular. He'd head home to Bristol often before the next season, doing God knows what with some gangbanger buddies. August 30th, 2008 is the first UF game of Aaron's sophomore year. The Gators are playing in Hawaii and Aaron's on the sidelines wearing the kind of walking boot used by injured athletes. Among Gator fans, rumor had it that the walking boot was worn by players who got themselves in trouble, as opposed to players who got themselves hurt. Other players had worn it previously, and the word in those cases was usually that the players

failed the drug tests, and had been made to wear the boot as a punishment. Without Aaron playing, the Gators still trounced Hawaii 56-10. Gators could have let Hernandez go, still been a powerhouse. But luckily for Hernandez, Meyer still believes in him. The following weekend, a game against Miami. Meyer puts Aaron in, and in the Gators' first possession, Hernandez catches a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tebow. The roar that went up in the stadium set the tone for the rest of the game. The Gators went on to crush Miami 26-3. For their third game of the season, their first away from home, the Gators face Tennessee. Hernandez read the Bible with his coach that morning. Once again, Meyer puts

him in to start the game. This is a big one. The Knoxville volunteers had won the SEC East title in 2007. In this game, Hernandez will score again. For two games running now, he scores the first Gator touchdown of the game on a pass from Tim Tebow. In the end zone, Aaron lets the ball drop at his feet after scoring, spread his arms out like Christ on the cross, feels the crowd roar around him. He's making a name for himself. By the end of the season, the Gators are ranked number one. They had only lost one game to Ole Miss in that one just by one point.

It had been a stellar showing for the team and especially for Aaron Hernandez. Sophomore tight end is a local football hero now. On January 8th, 2009, the Gators traveled to Miami Gardens for another BCS national championship game to take on second ranked Oklahoma. Almost 80,000 fans jammed the stands of Dolphin Stadium. This is beyond capacity, nearly twice the number of fans that would show up from Madonna later that year.

The 50 million people watching at home set a record for a college game. And in 50 million, and in 82 movie theaters in 30 cities across the nation, thousands and thousands of people paid to watch a 3D broadcast. Tim Tebow, who had been writing Phil 413, I can do all things to Christ who strengthens me in his eye black during the season, switched to John 316 for this game. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. During the game more than 90 million

people googled that verse which also trended to number one on Twitter and Facebook. The game got off to a slow start by half time the score was 7-7. Then in the locker room Tebo will give his teammates a famous Motivational speech. Okay guys, let's do this. We're gonna fuck these suitors right in their pussies We're gonna fuck them in their mouths and also in their butts every part of these dust bowl Okie cocksuckers getting fucked out of that field then we're gonna make them eat their own shit and also their cum We're gonna make them come in their shit and eat it. And we're gonna point at them while they chew and swallow.

And we're gonna laugh the hardest anyone has literally ever laughed. And the longest we're gonna laugh for hours. And if they ask us to stop, we're literally gonna cut their fucking heads off. And we're gonna fuck their next tumps. And we're gonna take pictures of ourselves doing that. Like real artistic photos. Probably Polaroids. But I'm not sure if we have enough of those for everyone.

So we might need to also use digital cameras. We'll work out the details later. The important thing is that we can take pictures so we can mail those pictures to their mothers. And then we're gonna find their moms. And we're gonna fuck them in their pussies. Two, after taking the pictures of their dead sons to the wall and making them stare at those photos while they get fucked.

Are you ready? Are you ready to go full evil? That's what it takes. That's what it takes to fucking win. I know that was a lot. He just made me laugh so much. By myself at a coffee shop, the other day by the way, when I started thinking to Tim Tebow of all people, a dude who never even swears, a guy who actually waited until

marriage loses virginity, a man I've literally never heard making a single off-color remark giving the most obscene locker room pep talk of all time by far. I feel like we might get some Cummins Law updates. Here's what Tim Teeebo actually said. He said, get in there, get in there, or no, sorry, in here, get in here, get in here right now, 30 minutes for the rest of your life. I promise you one thing, we're going to hit somebody and we're going to go move the ball down the field and score a touchdown.

I guarantee you that. Honestly, I feel like my pep talk was better. I feel good, a little more effective and getting people like really shocked and woken up. In the second half, Tim Tebow made good on his promise. By the end of the game, he complete 18 of 30 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns. Aaron Hernandez got five passes for 57 yards, another impressive showing. Final score 24-14, one negators, their second national championship in three years. All in all, Aaron had finished the season with 34 receptions, 381 yards, excuse me,

and five touchdowns. Very solid showing for a sophomore tight end. But then, just eight days later, Aaron's mom, Terry Hernandez, Mary's, Aaron's cousin's, Tanya's ex-husband, Aaron's cousin Tanya's ex-husband, Jeffrey, Fuckface Cummings, and Las Vegas. No relation, by the way. Jerry is for sure not my uncle on my dad's side, not my dad's older brother. Aaron and I never used to run together and do gang shit.

Uncle Jay, I mean Jeffrey, spelled his name with the G because he's a cool ass OG, I mean because he's not related to me. Aaron did not go to his mom's wedding. He was embarrassed by this again. He still worships his dad. He's furious, feels like disrespectful. In the 2009 season, Hernandez a junior will have a phenomenal year now. He'll lead the Gators and receptions, also

rack up more yards than any of the team's wide receivers. He'll catch 68 passes for 850 yards and five touchdowns, two of them in the same game against rival Florida State. Everyone is buying this dude drinks now. Right? No managers are ever hassling him about the bill. He's also rumored to be fooling around with girls and guys on the down low. What is continually worried about people finding out about his secret life? What is that doing to his mind? What is knowing how his dad felt about homosexuality doing to his self-worth? How much anger is this dude carrying around all the time?

In December, he'll win the Mackey Award, given annually to the best collegiate tight end, along with the All-American and All-South Eastern Conference first team picks. And the Gators won the 2010 Sugar Bowl that January. And then there seemed to be no question that Aaron Hernandez, you know, had just earned a spot as a first round pick for the NFL. And all the millions that came with being drafted in the first round were about to be his. He seemed to have every reason to skip senior year and enter the draft.

But problems. There were a lot of questions about his behavior and his drug use. Questions that he would have to address that leaked upcoming scouting combine in Indiana. To prepare, Aaron spent several weeks on the West Coast where Brian Murphy, the founder of Athletes First, the sports agency Aaron signed with, oversaw his training for the NFL Combine in pro day. February 2010, Aaron joined Tim Tebow, Marquis Pouncy, Brandon Spikes, and six other Gators who had flown to the Combine in Indianapolis. Aaron had torn a muscle in his back, stood on the sidelines as dozens of scouts, assistants, and coaches watch his teammates drill and work out. The prospects are tested for their

speed, strength, stamina, for their intelligence, even for the flexibility of their joints. By the end of the testing, few of Aaron's teammates actually impress the scouts. More than one scout voiced his doubts about Tebow, worrying about the quarterback's accuracy and release speed. I'll, you know, turn out to be, uh, it'll turn out that he's right to worry about that. Tim Tebow, uh, would not last long as an NFL quarterback. Accuracy and release speed problems would plague him.

But if the scouts were skeptical about Florida's star quarterback, they were fascinated by Aaron Hernandez. They knew he had the physical ability, but they had no idea who was behind the impressive stats. So they interviewed him at length, subjecting him to rounds and rounds of questions, and Hernandez killed it. Mostly. He scored 10 out of 10 for focus, motivation and mental quickness. 9 out of 10 for self-efficacy, receptiveness to coaching, 7 out of 10 for dedication,

but didn't do nearly that well on the interpersonal side of things. The NFL scouts seemed to see through his calm professional demeanor. Self-esteem is quite low one would note not well adjusted emotionally not happy moods unpredictable not stable Doesn't take much to set him off, but not an especially jumpy guy They had questions about his maturity the people he hung out with his drug and alcohol use He also seemed to be a natural follower instead of a leader a psychological profile by a North Carolina scouting firm called Human Resource Tactics at the request of several NFL teams suggested that Aaron enjoyed living on the edge of acceptable behavior and noted that he may be prone to partying too much and doing questionable things that could be seen as a problem for him and his team.

In the category of social maturity, he scored an abysmal one. In the category of, can we trust this motherfucker not to kill his friends? He scored a negative 1,000. So that's problematic. He'd admit to multiple positive drug tests while playing for the Gators, somewhere about six. And there were persistent questions coming mostly from Connecticut, but also from Florida on whether or not he was involved in gang activity.

This put the NFL in a weird position. The person who's probably the most desirable draft pick from the Gators was in many ways the least desirable teammate and the riskiest investment. However, at the time there was a perception that under Urban Myers tutelage, Aaron had begun to outgrow his destructive habits. Although in retrospect, it'll look more like Urban Meyer had done an excellent job of managing Aaron's worst impulses and shielding him from those who encouraged those impulses and hiding

examples of him acting on his worst impulses. In the end, Aaron's negative qualities did not totally eliminate him from the draft though. He'd spent the next couple of months at various pro-day workouts showcases for NFL scouts. One in Gainesville would take place March 17th. That day, roughly a hundred scouts swarmed around the stadium. Their stopwatches ticked like mosquitoes or eyes scanned the field for breakout stars and Aaron Hernandez would post good numbers. He'd put a 4.5, 4.5, 6 in the 40 yard dash as fast as time, better than the Oklahoma star tight end Jermaine Gresham posted at the combine.

Hernandez beat Gresham in the speed drills. Also the bench press as well. I mean, 30 reps, 225 pounds of one set is fucking wild. If he'd repped 225 for just 20, that would equate to a max of around 365 pounds. He probably could have benched between four, 450 pounds. Very strong athlete. Also went above and beyond to try and woo his favorite team to draft him, the New England Patriots, right his home team.

With the help of his agent, Hernandez wrote the Patriots director of player personnel, Nick Casario, a personal letter. I am writing in regards to some of the feedback I'm receiving from my agents, Florida coaches and other personnel. These sources have indicated that NFL teams have questions about my alleged use of marijuana. Aaron said he understood why there were questions, but offered a simple solution. If the New England Patriots would consent to draft him, he would consent to buy weekly drug tests throughout his rookie season.

Aaron even offered to tie his 2010 earnings to the drug tests. Promised to reimburse the team a prorated amount for any test that he failed. He said, I realized his offer is somewhat unorthodox, but it is also the only way I could think of to let you know how serious I am about reaching my potential in the NFL. In other words, Hernandez wrote, he was literally putting my money where my mouth is, by shouldering the financial burden himself. Test me all you want during my rookie year," Hernandez wrote in conclusion.

All the results will be negative while I am having an overwhelmingly positive impact on the field. Sounds pretty impressive. However, that offer, I didn't mean shit. Uh, did Hernandez know that according to the agreements, the NFL players association had long since negotiated with the league, the Patriots could not test him bi-weekly or even bi-monthly. Like all incoming NFL players, he would only be tested yearly on dates. he would know about ahead of time. But the letter showed at least he was serious about his future, and that he could at least face up to rumors about him, could maybe appear in public

and refute anything if need be. He sent the letter off and he waited. April 22, 2010 marked the start of the 2010 NFL Draft. Took place at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, where it had always taken place between 1965 and 2014. Tim Tebow drafted 25th for the Denver Broncos. Two other Gators have been picked higher than Tebow. Center, Marquis Pouncy, went to the Steelers number 18. His brother Mike would play another year for the Gators. Cornerback Joe Hayden drafted number 7 by the Browns.

On the following day, three more Gators made the second round. Lionbacker Brandon Spikes, who had recently served a half-game suspension for trying to gouge the eyes of a Georgia player, went to the Patriots at number 62. Outside Lionbacker Germain Cunningham went to the Patriots number 53. Carlos Dunlap, a defensive end who had missed the year's SEC championship game as a result of a DUI drafted by the Bengals at number 54. In the drafts third round, UF safety major right finds a home with the Bears number 75. Aaron's still not drafted. Would he be drafted? Well, I mean we kind of know, but I'm sure at the time he's worried. If not for questions about his character, he would have

been drafted in the first round. The farther he falls in the draft order, less money he's going to get for his first contract if he gets a contract. What's that doing to a guy who already has low self-esteem? How much anger is it adding to him internally? April 24th, Aaron's name is spoken in the fourth round. He's the 113th choice of the New England Patriots. The Boston Globe said the Pats were, quote, getting what many considered to be a player with first round talent for a fourth round price tag. Aaron must have felt every bit of that insult, even though he'd done it to himself. The whole process had to have been a slap in the face.

At the very outset of his professional career, the NFL is treating him as if he has damaged goods. And he is. He's impulsive, self-destructive, and exceptionally violent. But, you know, he kept his shit together on the field. He always had, always would. I am fascinated by that. He'd fuck up so much in his personal life, but on the field, he was always a professional. In public, Aaron was gracious.

It's obviously a dream come true. He told reporters privately he's conflicted, did make into the NFL, but had publicly fallen far short of what so many expected of him. Six weeks later, June 8, 2010, Hernandez gets a Patriots jersey of his own and a check for 200 grand. A lot less than second round pick Rob Gronkowski, another tight end, who also went to the Patriots, but more money than Aaron had ever seen at one time in his life. And the 200,000 Just a Signing Bonus tip of the iceberg if Aaron can manage to keep his demons at bay. Only three weeks later, things start to go downhill. Just not for Aaron this time, not directly. Dealing with some mama drama again. Fucking Pat Sajak, right? You can't trust her.

One month before Aaron was due to report for his first Patriots training camp, Terry Hernandez, his husband of 18 months, Jeffrey Cummings, my whole uncle Jay, slashed your face with a kitchen knife in their Bristol home, the same home his dad once lived in with Terry. Uh, guessing Aaron wanted to kill Jeff. Jeff was lucky Aaron didn't kill him. That was when I stopped talking to Uncle Jay, or would have, if he was my uncle. Uh, Terry managed to escape the house out of a side door, made it over to a neighbor's

house and called 911. Jeffrey arrested in the backyard when police arrived and he will serve two years in prison. News of this, even though he doesn't really talk to his mom at this point, you know, puts Erin on edge. She's still his mom. Fortunately, she will end her marriage with Terry, you know, while he is in prison or with Jeffrey, excuse me, while he's in prison, but they're rumored to get back when he gets out of prison. Arriving at Gillette Stadium shortly after hearing about all this, Erin is trying to watch film and growing frustrated as he tries and fails to figure out how to use the machinery to watch the film. When wide receiver Wes Welker walks past the film room, Hernandez asked him for his help and Welker said, figured out yourself, rookie,

just kind of joking. That was all it took to have Aaron come back with, fuck you, Welker. I'll fuck you up. That incident did not do wonders for Aaron's reputation. Uh, Welker, very respected, all pro receiver, very liked in the locker room. He's a Super Bowl winner. But if Aaron had gotten off on the wrong foot, the Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick, did not seem to hold it against him. Bill was focused on winning, which he did. Super Bowl in 2001. Then again, you know, two years later, again, 2004, racking up three victories in four years.

But in 2007, a year in which they lost to Super Bowl, the Patriots were given the largest fine in NFL history, 500 grand for ignoring a new rule about where cameras could be placed during games and filming jet signals from their own sidelines. It was called Spygate. Now Bill was focused on getting back on top. The coach controlled every aspect of his

players' performances right down to the exits they would have to use to leave at the end of the workouts. All of them would have to pass by his door, which was always open. But for all his coaching prowess, Bill did not know how to deal with Aaron personally. Someone who could cry when he made a mistake, you know, who seemed to get set off and become fighting mad by the littlest thing. He basically left Aaron to the team. Quickly Aaron found success working with the other rookie Titan, Rob Gronkowski. Gronk! Gronk with 6-6 weighed 20 pounds more than Hernandez, which meant that Gronk could be

the bulwark while Hernandez was the speed. By the end of the 2011 season, Gronkowski had racked up incredible numbers, setting NFL records for receiving yards and touchdown receptions for a tight end. Plain in the shadow, Hernandez nevertheless made it into the league's top five for tight ends in receptions, yards, and touchdown receptions. Combined the two tight ends had 169 receptions, shattering a record the Charter's set in 1984 and an unprecedented 2,237 receiving yards. They were the most effective tight end pairing in NFL history for at least one season.

If Aaron could have controlled his demons, how many more seasons could that have kept going? Or maybe, you know, Aaron CT would have never allowed that. January 14th, 2012, the Patriots host the Broncos in a divisional playoff game. The Patriots had won 13 games in the regular season. The Broncos had won 8. Their quarterback was Aaron's old teammate, Tim Tebow. Maybe seeing his old friend inspired him because Aaron Hernandez went off.

He burst out on the fourth play of the game, running the ball out of the backfield for 43 yards downfield, longest run of the season. The Patriots scored a touchdown with the next play, then scored four more in the first half. Hernandez would carry the ball five times in the game, giving the best rushing performance by a tight end in NFL playoff history. 61 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, Hernandez was taken out of the game with a head injury, one of several sustained in the course of his football career. No one thought anything about it at the time. Patriots won, decisively, 45 to 10. Few weeks later, the boy from Bristol found himself in Indianapolis, playing in his first and what will be his only Super Bowl.

Super Bowl 36 was on February 5th, 2012. I think that's how the numbers work. Oh, wait, maybe it's, I left it as Roman numerals. Super Bowl XO V1. Maybe that is the four. I don't know. Logan said 51. 51. I don't know. Super Bowl 2012 Super Bowl XL V1. The number 46. 46. Super Bowl 46. Okay. American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson sang the National Anthem accompanied by a children's choir.

It was a close game all game with nine seconds left on the clock, Brady threw a perfect hail Mary to Hernandez in the end zone to try and win it. Stryed on all sides by Giants. Hernandez stretched his hands out, jumped for the ball, but the Giants jumped higher. Aaron fell backward. Two Giants fell on top from the ball, bounces out of the pack, right? Gronk dives for it and misses. And once again, the Giants had beaten the Patriots. Hernandez is heartbroken, he told reporters after the game. But he's only 22. He had many more years to try and bring home a Super Bowl ring. Brady still had years of prime playing left, so did Gronk. It looked like Hernandez had a storybook future still ahead of him.

But that offseason, Aaron's world really begins to crumble. He'd retreat to his townhouse in Plainville, Massachusetts, two hours east of Bristol, Connecticut. Once again, he's within driving distance of his family, his old crew. There were old friends like Carlos Ortiz to hang out with. There was Aaron's cousin, Tanya, T.L. Singleton, T.L. and Tanya had recently gotten married. And there were new friends like Alexander Bradley, who had met Aaron in Bristol while he was still living in Florida. Bradley was tall, imposing, broad-chested, broad shoulders, soft-spoken. Most importantly, dude sold a lot of weed.

Good weed. The first time they'd met, Hernandez had no cash to buy marijuana with, and Bradley gave him an ounce on the house, and a friendship was begun. Two group closer by playing video games for hours on end, and when Hernandez became a patriot and moved back to New England, he and Bradley saw each other much more often. Three or four times a week was phone calls and texts on the days in between. They gambled together, they would drive to Foxwood's casino or Maheacon's son, and

go to clubs in Boston, Hartford, and Providence. Once Hernandez took Bradley on a vacation with him to Miami. On Sunday nights, he and Aaron went to Cure Lounge, a nightclub in Boston's theater district. Waitresses carried buckets of champagne around his big room, trailing plumes of dry ice. Sometimes at the bar or on the dance floor, patrons would recognize Hernandez and stare and Aaron did not care for that. Soon it seemed like Bradley was always having to stop Hernandez from starting shit with other people.

He was more easily angered than ever. This might be the CTE starting to really show up, right? Terrible impulse control, real quick to anger. The only thing that seemed to calm Aaron down was weed. Lots and lots of weed. He was smoking about four ounces a week. Early in the summer of 2012, Hernandez gave Alexander Bradley $350, which Bradley will use to buy a.357 Magnum.

So over with the brown handle, the gun had a couple rounds in the chamber when Bradley bought it. Next time Hernandez came down to Bristol, Bradley handed the firearm over. Aaron approved and nothing good is going to come from this. Before we learn about the bad shit, this purchase is going to lead to time for the second of two mid-show sponsor breaks. If you don't want to hear these ads, you can become a space wizard on Patreon for five bucks a month and get the entire catalog ad free and more.

And I'm back. I hope you heard a deal you liked. You were able to save some money. Now we return to Erin's descent into more needless violence. A few weeks later, July 15, 2012, Hernandez meets Bradley at Bradley's place. It was a Sunday, their favorite night to go out. Two friends had a few drinks, a couple of blunts talked about where to go. West Hartford, Providence, Boston, they settled on Cure Lounge in Boston. As they walked to the car, Bradley noticed that

Hernandez was holding that silver revolver. Aaron did not have his club clothes with him, so Bradley loaned him jeans, t-shirt, and a Cardinals hat. They walked out to Aaron's Toyota Forerunner, an endorsement car, that the Jack Fox Toyota dealership in Providence had lent him. Popping the hood, Hernandez stuffed the gun down into the engine block. Like a dude looking to do some shady shit. Then with Bradley driving, they set up for Boston, pulling into a parking garage on Tremont Street after midnight and walking around the corner to cure. Aaron and Alex stepped into a special entrance for VIPs, skipping the line and the $20 cover, but Cure had a no hat policy. There were no exceptions, not even for VIPs.

Hernandez and Bradley both had to give up their hats to the bouncers and Aaron was apparently a dick about it. As he went in, he gave one of the bouncers a hard time by enforcing this policy. Then he and Bradley went straight to the bar. They didn't see some men coming in behind him, five friends from Cape Verde, an island nation off the West Coast of Africa. Daniel De Abraio, who was 29, and Sofiero Furtado, who was 28, had both been in Cape Verde, an island nation off the West Coast of Africa. Daniel De Abraio, who was 29, and Sefirro Furtado, who was 28, had both been in Cape Verde, but had met,

excuse me, in America. Furtado, who worked as a tour guide in Cape Verde, had been in the U.S. for less than a year. In Massachusetts, he worked the overnight shift, cleaning offices with one of his cousins from 10 at night until 2 in the morning. On Sundays, Furtado cleaned the local YMCA alongside Daniel DeAbraio. DeAbraio had arrived in the US in August of 2008, been a police officer for five years in Cape Verde, came to the US to provide better life for his family. Neither man really wanted to be out that night, both of them had worked long weeks, both were

tired, but Sunday was the one night when DeAbraio and Fertado got to see their friends. At the club, out on the dance floor, Daniel Debraio bumped into an already agitated because of the hat shit Aaron Hernandez. Bradley later said that the bump was intentional. He bumped him in rhythm, as if it was part of the dance. Not a big deal for most people. But the jolt caused Aaron to spill a bit of his drink, and the Patriot becomes enraged. According to Bradley, Hernandez turned an eyeball at Debraio.

Debraio had no idea who he was, just smiled. And that upset Aaron that much more. Aaron and Bradley left the club less than 10 minutes after the injured. And then outside, Aaron started to vent. I hate it when people try me, try to play me, he said, as they walked back down Tremont Street toward the garage. Bradley heard him out, told him, you know, not worth it. They couldn't get into that kind of trouble.

Just then a promoter who worked at a nearby club called Caprice, recognized Aaron invites him in, offers them in table service. They declined the table service, but enter the club, walk up to the bar and order drinks. Then turning around, Hernandez tells Bradley, there's those motherfuckers from, from the cure, right? They follow them into the Caprice. Hernandez was wrong.

Uh, Daniel DeIbraio, Saphiro Fratado and their friends were still at Cure, where they would stay all the way until closing time, but Aaron was sure that he'd seen what he'd seen. And now he wants to leave. Alexander Bradley, Aaron, get back into the forerunner, drive it around the block. They park on the side street, start smoking some more weed. Then, Hernandez pops the hood, removes the gun, he's stuffed into the engine block, and puts it in the glove box. Dumb, dumb, dumb move.

Dude wants some shit to go down. Truly outlook of trouble. Driving back out to Tremont Street, they parked just beyond the garage. They had parked in earlier that evening and they wait for the club to get out. This is so stupid. Bradley will later say that he and Hernandez were waiting outside to meet some women and that is bullshit, right? Was that gun for the girls?

Get the fuck out of here. Instead, they see Daniel DeAbraio It's a fero for Toto exiting cure Hernandez shouts there they go there they go as they you know take off in the forerunner or I guess they were out for a second starting out by the forerunner They get back into the forerunner and Bradley gets behind the wheel seen a silver BMW drive past them with a braille and for Toto inside a Bit later Hernandez says go go go they speed up and they overtake the car. This is all so needless, so fucking stupid. All this over a slight bump on the dance floor

that led to a bit of a spilled drink. And some people, Hernandez instructs Bradley to roll down the window. Bradley does as he's asked, reclines this. And this is all according to mainly Bradley's testimony later, by the way. Hernandez braced his left hand on an armrest, stuck the gun out of the driver's side window inside the BMW. Debraio Furtado, both glued to their phones. Hernandez yells, yo, need a man look up?

He yells it again. Yo, men look up, you know, they turn to look at him. Hernandez asked, what's up now? Furtado says, but Mody Cape Verdean Creole for why? And then according to some witnesses, Hernandez squeezes the trigger and fires. There were five or six gunshots. Bradley will later say that Hernandez emptied the chamber. Glass explodes.

Somebody screams. Hernandez tells Bradley, let's go, let's go! You know, they drive off. So Fero had been shot in the fucking head. Covered in blood, he's dead instilling in the passenger seat. Sitting beside him, Daniel de Abreio, badly wounded, trying to speak. His friends tried to reassure him that he'd be all right. They'll find helped.

Uh, they'll find help, but only about a minute later. Daniel's also dead. Back in the forerunner, Hernandez allegedly said, did you see that? I think I got one in the chest. He took off his loan t-shirt, used it to wipe down the gun. They talked about going to Aaron's place in Plainville, but ended up driving to 47 Newberry Street in Hartford. It was the house where Bradley's baby mom, Brooke Wilcox, lived. Wilcox lived on the third floor of a three-floor walkup in a small, two-bedroom attic apartment.

As soon as she and Bradley were alone in one of their bedrooms, Bradley apparently told her this crazy motherfucker just did some stupid shit. Aaron was hanging out in the living room. At some point, he knocked on the door, asked to use Brooke's laptop. Bradley hands it over, along with a blanket, pillow for Aaron to use to sleep over. Before going to sleep, Aaron runs a few searches on Brooke's computer, checking to see if the news outlets have reported a shooting in Boston yet. By the time she got out, Tanya Singleton was standing in her kitchen. Aaron's cousin, she and Aaron were whispering. Brooke had never met Tanya before, but she and Aaron seemed so intimate. Brooke assumed she was Aaron's fiance when Brooke left for work that morning Tonya still there

when she got home few hours later. Alexander Bradley was there but Aaron Tonya and the Toyota forerunner are gone as though nothing had ever happened. Two men dead over what dude just played in the fucking Super Bowl. He scored a touchdown in the Super Bowl. If he can just not fuck his career and life up by doing really stupid shit off the field, like playing Scarface, he'll be worth over $100 million in less than a decade beyond his way to the NFL Hall of Fame with his prodigious talent. Why is he making choices like this? Been entitled, never had to face some music for terrible choices for too long.

Right. Thanks to his athletic talent, maybe is Is his brain truly just legitimately that damaged? Is he still just so desperate to prove how much of a tough guy he is, right? All of the above, something else. July 27th, two weeks after the shooting in Boston, Aaron Hernandez reports to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro for the start of the Patriots training camp.

While Hernandez talks to the reporters, Boston PD continues its investigation into the double homicide outside of Cure Lounge. Witnesses said they might have seen a silver SUV with Rhode Island plates and appeals made to the public. Could anybody help the police locate it? Detectives had already looked at various vehicles registered with the neighboring state's DMV, but failed to ID the vehicle in question.

Nothing came up. Once again, a case relating to Aaron Hernandez is dead. Then in a couple of weeks, Aaron finds out that his girlfriend, Shiana Jenkins, is pregnant. All the more reason to never do dumb shit like he may have done ever again. Aaron and Shayana had known each other since elementary school, had dated on and off since high school. Shayana was and is beautiful, high cheekbones, heart-shaped face, dark hair that falls beneath her shoulders. She's practically family.

And now she and Erin would be starting a family of their own. August 27, 2012. Erin signs a five-year, $40 million contract extension with the Patriots. The agreement was heavily structured toward just later years with a 2018 base salary of $6 million, almost six times larger than what Aaron, you know, we get in 2012. The extension also came with a $12.5 million signing bonus, the largest that any NFL team had ever offered a tight end. That's how much talent this dude had. Aaron and Shayana got engaged in October and just a few weeks later, November 6th, Aaron

skips practice. It was the Patriots' 23rd birthday, but he and Shiana had something much more important to celebrate, the birth of their daughter, Aviel Janell. For the family, Aaron and Shiana bought a house at 22 Ronald C. Meyer Drive in North Adelboro, just off a homeward lane. Located less than 10 miles from Gillette Stadium, the 7100 square foot, my god, 7100 square foot contemporary colonial mansion, which had been built for Pager's defensive tackle Ty Warren, had three stories, five bedrooms, six baths, a three car garage, an in-ground pool, a movie theater, and a basement sauna and ice bath. He's living the dream. They would invite some family members over to see the baby, Aaron's cousin, Tanya,

Shiana's younger sister, Shania. Two years younger than her sister, Shania worked long hours, putting herself through Central Connecticut State University, where she was majoring in criminology with an eye towards becoming a lawyer. But she still made time for her family and also a time with her for her boyfriend, a man she brought around, Odin Lloyd. Lloyd had dark skin, winning smile, athletic physique. He'd been born in St. Croix, raised in Dorchester, same town that Daniel de Abreu and Sefirro

Furtado lived in. He'd been an excellent football player in high school, good enough to play for Delaware State. But Odin didn't have the money to stay in college. When his financial aid fell through, he dropped out and moved home. Still, Odin held on to his dreams on days off from his job at a Dorchester lawn fertilizer company. He would play defense

for a semi-pro team called the Boston Bandits. Odin and Aaron soon hit it off. One is a famous football player, the other is a diehard fan who desperately wants to be a famous football player, and both love to smoke weed. Their friendship will become quite the roller coaster ride. January 20, 2013 The Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship game and they lose. It was the end of Aaron's third season in the NFL. Three weeks later, Aaron and his old buddy Alexander Bradley fly to Miami. The Ravens

will go on to win the Super Bowl. They'll beat the San Francisco 49ers 34 to 31. Excuse me in a grueling four hour game. Deontay Thompson and Pranel McPhee who played for Baltimore were hosting a Super Bowl party in West Palm Beach. Deontay Thompson and Aaron were tight. They both started for Florida at the same time. Aaron close enough with Deontay to call him D. But when Thompson and some of his friends picked her and ended up in Bradley up at the airport, Bradley realized he didn't know any of these people. There was a man named Papu, D's nephew, Max Black Brown, one by Black, two men Tyrone

Crawford and Jarelle Pierre, who had grown up with Dee and Belle Glade, an hour west of Palm Beach, excuse me, hour west of West Palm Beach, real rough town, only about 17,000 people. In 2003, according to FBI statistics, It was the second most violent town in America In 2010 the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office estimated that half of the young men in Belglade between 18 and 25 already had felony convictions Bradley also met a man who simply said soldier when asked for his name Who fuck are these people? Note to self never hang out with a dude who introduced himself as soldier.

Lot of respect for people who have been soldiers or are soldiers. Zero interest in spending time with a dude who just goes by the name of soldier. I will walk straight out of the appointment if I was at a doctor's office. Right, and the doctor introduced himself as soldier. Just, you can call me doctor soldier. No thank you. Papu's house, Papu and Soldier. This is great. Papu's house in Belglade was where the pre-party would be. His actual name was Oscar Hernandez,

no relation to Aaron. Before long, all the players were wasted. Black, Papu, Soldier, every one of these weirdos. And they stayed that way for several days. A cavernous Miami Garden strip club called Florida's Hotest Used B I mean, Tucci's cabaret will become their favorite after hours destination. Another rough place. Google Tucci's cabaret and murder. Whole bunch of shit comes up. Aaron loved the rough and rugged crowd. The group headed there on February 11th, again on February 12th, staying

deep into the night on both nights, drinking enough to get sloppy, drinking enough to fuel Aaron's steadily growing paranoia. During their first trip to Tutsis, Hernandez told Bradley that two customers of the strip club were undercover cops and they were following him. On their second night of the strip club, as Bradley sat in a top floor VIP room with Aaron, Jarell, Tyrone and Soldier, he asked one of the waitresses for a cell phone charger. Fucking Soldier, still kills me.

Uh, the waitress said she would look, but then never came back. Bradley ended up leaving his phone on the table and forgot it. Uh, when somebody else, you know, something else caught his attention. The check. It was for somewhere close to 10 grand. Damn. Hernandez asked Bradley to split it with him. Well, Bradley had no fucking intention of doing that.

Why would he pay $5,000 for a bunch of Aaron's friends? Also, he didn't just get a massive, multi-million dollar signing bonus. He works at a fertilizer company. After a brief argument, Aaron pays the whole thing and they all pile in. Oh, sorry, that was Odin. Sorry, Odin works at a fertilizer company. Aaron's dealing weed. So he probably had some money, but he didn't get the multi-million dollar signing

bonus after a brief argument. Aaron pays the whole thing and they all pile into the car. Just a few moments later, Bradley realizes he has left his phone back at the club and he just asks Aaron, hey man, can you turn around so I can grab it? And Hernandez just says, nah, that's such a dick move. Bradley is sure that this was about him not, you know, splitting the paycheck. He stues in the backseat now until he falls asleep. When he opens his eyes, Aaron is pointing a semiotic mounted pistol at his face.

And just as Bradley throws his right hand up to cover, you know, the pistol, his good buddy Aaron, this guy he's been friends with for years, pulls the trigger. The blast is deafening. The bullet tore through Bradley's hand, blew off part of one of his fingers, passed through the bridge of his nose, and exploded his right eye in its socket. After the gun goes off, fucking soldier, uh, leans across, starts to push Bradley out of the car. fingers, passed through the bridge of his nose and exploded his right eye in its socket. After the gun goes off, fucking soldier, uh, leans across, starts to push Bradley out of the car. Of course he did.

You can always count on soldier to help move a body out of a car. Hernandez gets out on the passenger side, grabs Bradley and pulls. They dump him on the ground, leave him for dead and bounce. Again, CTE has to be a factor. Can't blame CTE for his long history of wanting to be gangster and hanging with the wrong people, can't blame it for his long standing violent nature, but maybe blame it for him being so quick to become so extremely violent over fucking nothing. So impulsive.

Right, if he truly did all this, he has killed two dudes, because one danced into him, spilled his drink a bit, and then shot his friend in the fucking face for not splitting a strip club tab with him. Oh, and shot another dude in the arm and another guy in the head over maybe somebody taking another person's gold chain. Two workers at the John Deere Landscapes lot Kevin Riddle and Mingle Blake would rush over just in time to see a body curled up by a chain link fence. No car in sight.

It was Bradley, and Bradley is incredibly still alive after that The next day Valentine's Day detective Kenny Smith from the Palm Beach Sheriff's Department Arrives at the St. Mary's Hospital to interview Bradley who was already recovering from surgery surgery Found him to be conscious and you know, cognitive if not quite cooperative, you know again another guy You know, cognitive if not quite cooperative, you know again another guy so much fucking tougher than Dennis Hernandez That fucking little cry baby let a bacteria taking my here's the second guy, but shot the fucking head. Who's like whatever Ha fuck some man. He was anyway Bradley initially said he had no idea who shot him Unfortunate video cameras around the lot had not been set to record

Meanwhile, Aaron texts Brooke Wilcox, the mother of Bradley's child, asks her if she's heard from Aaron from Bradley, excuse me. Aaron's at the airport and Bradley, gosh, gosh dang, know where to be found. A couple hours later, Bradley calls Hernandez. It's got to be so surreal from a hospital, it's like getting called from a zombie. And Bradley, when Aaron picks up, just goes, what's up? getting called from a zombie. And Bradley, when Aaron picks up, just goes, what's up? And Aaron says, who's this? He sounds surprised.

You know who this is, Bradley sneers. It's me, it's your boy. And then Aaron just fucking hung up. I bet a part of him is like, I just fucking talked to a ghost. I just shot that guy in the head. This conversation is so weird. How do you not say something like,

the dude who you shot in the fucking face over a strip club bill you psycho motherfucker instead. It's all like hey, what's up, bro? You gonna pick me up taking me back to the club. I still need my phone. Who's this? It's your boy Bradley the dude you shot in the fucking face last night you shot my eye out dude. That shit was wild. My face is fucked up, bro. I'm not even mad though. I'm not one to do all the passenger shit. Can you please pick me up or not? Bradley calls her and is back two times, two days after Aaron shot his eye out. And when Aaron finally picks up the phone again, he's like, I don't know why you keep hanging up. I didn't tell the police on you.

Bradley says something, you know what time it is when I get back and Hernandez hangs up on him again. Bradley sends a text, I really do love you you my boy. What the fuck is happening here? But you won't get away with that. A week later, Aaron Hernandez flies the NFL Combine in Indianapolis and surprises Bill Belichick by telling the coach that his life is in danger. It's not safe for me to be in New England, Hernandez says, and asked Belichick to trade him or to get him out of the area. The coach tells Hernandez that the Patriots are not going to trade him. I'm sure privately Belichick was like, what the fuck is this dude's deal? My

God, he's a head case. He's a head case. He also offered to help Hernandez with security issues in Boston. Hernandez was nursing a shoulder injury at the time. If he couldn't be traded out of the area, he told Belichick he would spend the spring rehabbing in Southern California. That way, Aaron said he'd be closer to Tom Brady, who was spending his off-season on the West Coast with his wife, Giselle Bunchen. Sports reporters covering the combine

remember Aaron being nervous and fidgety. One night when he went out to drink with them, he peed on a cab to the surprise of everyone. If they only knew, how that shit was nothing, compared to what he did when he really went hard. Calm down, you fucking pussy ass bitches! It's a cab, it's piss! It's's not got his shot anyone's eye out again or blew up anyone's brains and shit. You should see me when I really get after it Even though he'd moved to California

He would not keep himself out of trouble Aaron and Shania or Shiana Excuse me rented a cement house on the corner of Linden and Hermosa Beach Ave in Hermosa Beach looking out of the Pacific Ocean Instead of relaxing he flew out his old friends like Bo Wallace out from Bristol and eventually started fighting with Sheyana over nothing. Dude does not know how to just relax and fucking chill. Not consistently. On the evening of March 25th, the call comes into the 911 dispatcher in Hermosa Beach. Sheyana was the person calling. She told the dispatcher that Aaron had put his fist through a window and then abruptly hung up.

That wouldn't be the last call to police about Aaron. A few days later, Aaron and Shayana visited a tattoo part of them at Hermosa Beach, get a set of matching tattoos, classic move of people in a relationship that's not going well. Not always the case, but so often, not a good sign. Remind me that we'll always have each other, Aaron's read, referencing a lyric from the band Incubus. Shayana's tattoo completed the verse, when everything else is gone.

Pretty cool tattoos, but still. But then just a few days later, on April 2, neighbors will hear her fighting and call the police to arrive to find the house in disarray, like furniture has been thrown around, motherfuckers out of control. When the police ask Shayana to file a report, she declines. Nine days later, April 11, Aaron drives to a bank of America in Hermosa Beach, makes some deposits. One check from the Patriots was for the, I guess that'll do amount of $1,835,809. Another from Puma is $30,000.

Adds that to Aaron's balance. After depositing the checks, he has to tell her to wire $15,000 to a Florida bank account belonging to the parents of Oscar Papu Hernandez. According to charges, prosecutors will later file in District Court in Massachusetts. Papu passed the money along to Bo Wallace and two other men who used the money to buy two pistols, a Colt AR-15, a Hungarian-made AK-47, and a used Toyota camera, Camry, which was used to ship the pistols and the AK-47 from Florida to Aaron's home in North Attleboro, where Shayana Jenkins ended up signing for it all. What is he doing?

Then Aaron returns to the tattoo shop. This time he wants a tattoo that depicts a smoking, the smoking muzzle of a semiotic handgun, like the one he used to shoot Alexander Bradleweth. He asks the artist to ink a spent shell underneath it. Above his wrist, Aaron got a tattoo of a revolver with five bullets in his chamber and had the phrase, God forgives, written backwards so it could be easily read in the mirror when he looks at it. All the while, Alexander Bradley still not planning on letting Aaron off the hook. Bradley wrote in one text message, You did that bullshit for no reason, and me being the real friend I was to you, I didn't

try to ruin you, even after you tried to kill me. Think about how real that is. The tears should be in my eyes, after the way you betrayed me, I never crossed you in no way." Aaron replied, I love you, so weird, I love you, and you're not gonna frame me for some bread. Bradley replied, I would never try to frame you, you left me with one eye and a lot of head trauma You owe for what you did and it's too bad

You don't know me enough to know that this convo is private between us this ain't for no lawyer or cop to see We both know what happened the truth is the truth if I dealt with police my boy This would have been over and done with that's what's crazy about the situation. We know each other so well You know, I ain't no BS. You want you know, I ain't on no BS you to paranoid That's what made you do this shit you did and last but not least I always wanted the best for you remembered that you obviously didn't feel the same Aaron texted back. Sorry, bro But that strip club bill was like 10 G's you left me on the hook for five dog

What was I supposed to do not shoot you in the eye? How much an eye worth for real? You ain't like a pilot or some shit you move weed bro one eye plenty good for that for real for real No way weed I was more than three four G. You still owe me a G at least for real How would you feel like the victim you texting his shit you still see fine player if I thought you'd be such a bitch about shit I would have never shot you in the face dog thought he was a real G and shit, you still see fine play. If I thought you'd be such a bitch about shit, I would have never shot you in the face. Dog, thought you was a real G and shit. My bad for real. He didn't text that.

He texted something weirder, maybe though. He texted, I will always be there for you till the day you die, but not in the state of mind you're in and been in. And I don't know what got into you. After all the years, we were inseparable. Everything aside, you're always on my mind. And I love you.

And I always will, no homo. What? Bradley replied, what's crazy is I believe that part is true. You probably do think about how real of an N I am and how you even flipped on me. But what's sick of me is the fact that you are denying this shit, like it's for the lawyer or cops. Yo, you must really not know me, but I guess I didn't know you either, because I would

have never thought you'd try to end me." Aaron then updates his contacts on his phone. And from now on, Alexander Bradley will come up as lies. April 11, 2013. The day that Aaron wires $15,000 to Papua Hernandez' parents, he and Bradley have yet another weird exchange. Bradley texted, do you have trustworthy ends like me around doubted dog? Six strong with a lot of weaponry.

So, hey, you turn this combo into this. Once again, Aaron Denies haven't done anything wrong. He sends a text, if you ever got me in trouble or ruin my life for something I didn't do, I don't even want to get back at you, but you will pay. I'll be back around the way in a couple of too, and I can't wait to see you, cuz. I see you, still. Be at your baby mother's crib a bunch. Love you, cuz.

Can't stop loving someone that was the only person that I fucked with, and was like a brother to me, but damn, you are trying to sue me for Sutton I didn't do and don't even know about. If you could win that, then God is on your side side But I doubt something can be proved that isn't true Bradley takes back here you go threaten again. I guess cuz he's saying like hey man I know you've been out of your fucking baby mama's house. You know that don't scare me though If you knew how jeet up I am you wouldn't even say that then he told Aaron exactly how jeet up he was AK-47s Mac 11s Mac 90 at the ready, four bulletproof vests.

Bradley wrote, oh, almost forgot. The right ends to use the weaponry. If you think them wolves ain't on deck, then try what you gotta try. Two guys go back and forth, mixing threats with endearments. This is the weirdest text thread. Bradley writes, what makes you think I wanna kill you, dude? You don't wanna try to kill me. Oh, I promise you'll pay for that.

And you're still boxed in. You'll be number one suspect. And replies, I swear to God, either you know you're trying to ruin my life and kill me when all I did was be there for you. I still love you. No homo. I'll always love you. Bradley counters. Now, if it ain't going to be that way, say, fuck it, you ain't getting shit from me. I file a civil suit, you lose. It'll, it'll, oh my god, this is, oh, there's so many weird text spellings. It, Al, and we hold court in the street.

You think I'm scared to die? Confusingly, Air responds with, I'm reading another language sometimes, all caps, I miss you and love you. And then lowercase, he continues with, and still watch videos of us having fun every single day. That's fucking weird. And can't still believe this. And we'll keep saying I can't believe all this because I truly can't believe all of this shit is going on. If I would really try and kill you when we were that close, I wouldn't and never would want to hurt you. And you know that love you goodnight love you goodnight

what the fuck this feels like the reply of a guilty man if some dude kept accusing me of shooting him in the fucking face and I really didn't do that and he's constantly referencing trying to extort me for money over said shooting I would not keep texting him back I damn sure wouldn't talk about being excited to see him and telling him I loved him I'd be talking to a lawyer and or the police. Well, Bradley writes back, sounding like a scoring lover. Not to bother you, but feel me on this. When you did that, it's like you coming home to your crib and catching your broad in bed

with another. You stole my trust and tore my ego. These are so not the text messages I would have ever expected from a dude who's been shot in the eye and the man who shot him in the eye Not to bother you but my eye hole ache when my eye used to be at and it like makes my heart heavy thinking about how you shot My eye out over disagreement over a bar to have for real, bro. I love you. No homo I cannot wait to spend time with you again. We good dog. You just gotta let that shit go Yeah, bro

I shot you in the face and shit but for real sometimes you stare at me too long that shit upset me now we be cool though because now when you stare at me it'd be funny because one eye would be looking one way other but other I'd be fake and doing his own thing and that should make me laugh to think about so we all good I don't know bro time he'll all wounds but I don't think time grow I back maybe I'd be able to joke about it one day but you could at least be apologizing for my eye for real Then Hernandez just sends back a string of lol emojis followed by a few pirate flecks Now that last part was fucking nuts Aaron now decides to beef up his arsenal. Maybe he's worried about getting shot up around April 19th

He has Bo Wallace contact company called international armored group places a hundred and twenty grand order for a used armored Ford expedition same week in Florida Bo Wallace grabs twenty two caliber pistol playing paying cash that with cash that Papu had given him and then he leaves fucking fucking Papu I'm glad he's still around if only every crew had a Papu he then gives it to Aaron who carries it around fully loaded for a while then mysteriously discards it one night and prowls it under a parked car. What the fuck did he do with that gun before he did that? Kill somebody else? May 29, 2013, Shayana turns 24. Aaron is still just 23.

He's so young. That weekend, Aaron and Shayana will throw a huge party. Dozens of friends and family members spent the afternoon at his place, jumping in and out of the swimming pool, drinking, eating off the grill. Shiana's sister, Shanee was there along with her boyfriend, Odin. The law party at a club called Rumor in Boston before they head home. Aaron behaves himself. He doesn't shoot a single friend's eye out. He's doing great.

Week later, Odin, Aaron, Shania and Shiana are partying again on South Street Cafe North Providence. Oden, Aaron go outside several times, smoke some weed. Hernandez is a nickname for Lloyd is blunt master. Oden's quick, real good at rolling his blunts. Another work week goes by then on June 14th, Oden is back at rumor. Along with Aaron Hernandez and Aaron's barber and friend, Robbie Olivares, a friend of Oden's, a man named Kwame Nicholas.

Kwame Nicholas, two words. Also at the club that night. With this time, something seems off. Odin and Aaron seem to be arguing, possibly by a group of people Odin is talking to that Aaron doesn't like. Whatever the conflict had been, Aaron and Odin seem to have resolved it by the time the club closes. They leave together. Aaron picks up a couple of women on the way home. One of those women, Jennifer Fortier, was the on-again, off-again nanny for Aaron's

daughter, Abiel. This dude was so intent on blowing his fucking life up. He takes him all back to an apartment he had rented in Franklin, expressly for this purpose, for shacking up with other people his girl doesn't know about. A few years earlier, Cheyenne had caught Aaron cheating, moved out for several weeks. Now he knows to be more discreet. He, Odin, Jennifer Fortier, her friend, Amanda DeVito, all head to Franklin to keep the party going.

Up on the third floor of the apartment complex, Aaron takes out a key, opens the door to number 12, turns into Jennifer Fortier, explains that this was his uncle's apartment. About a half hour after they arrive, while the women are just been sort of sitting around because neither of them drink, while the men smoke weed, Hernandez leaves the living room, disappears into one of the bedrooms, and starts to call his fucking babysitter's name, his nanny's name. Fortier walks over. Aaron is sitting on the bed. The two of them talk for about 10 minutes, and Aaron leans in to kiss her, and Jennifer

Fortier will say she pulls away, says she didn't want to get involved with her employer. Then why the fuck are you there? Why are you there in the first place? That seems very fishy to me. I call bullshit on that Well, according to the story Aaron ends up falling asleep out in the living room. Odin is also sleeping Jennifer borrows her friend Amanda's phone to call a cab and the women leave When he wakes up on a Saturday and finds the women gone Aaron, you know Just the next day like he slept for several days Aaron sends a text on Odin's phone to Shiana

I fucked up again He wrote at 8 57 in the morning and then fuck Odin's phone to Sheyana. I fucked up again, he wrote, at 8.57 in the morning. And then fuck, I didn't mean to, but got drunk and too fucked up and oh took me here and somehow told him about my other spot and I just woke up bugging. I'm sorry and on way home. Why is he telling her about his other spot? What's the point of having a secret hookup spot? If you tell your fiance you have it. When you got it, express it for the purpose of your fiance not having known about it or not knowing.

I don't know. His whole life is so chaotic and confusing. Aaron now might be worried about what Shayana thinks. He's definitely worried about Odin. He's now convinced that Odin has betrayed him somehow, you know, for unknown reasons. This dude doesn't need a reason. I don't know. Maybe he thinks he's, Odin's going tell his Cheyanna about Jennifer. That Sunday, Father's Day, June 16th, 2013, Aaron Hernandez texts his agent Brian Murphy, catches him just as Murphy is sitting down in church. Aaron wants to talk about Alexander Bradley. The man had still been exchanging more texts, Bradley insisting that Aaron owes him money

and that he wouldn't allow Aaron to go on without compensating him. Like before, Aaron's texts back are all very I don't know fucking weirdly romantic Time again Hernandez tells Bradley. He loves him There's no one else he can trust And at times Bradley adopts the same affectionate tone like when he writes if you really love me and then you'd want to settle this and Whatever it is in store for us is in store if we're gonna be cool again That's what it'll be. But got to start with resolving this incident that went down.

Why would you fucking ever hang out with somebody again? Who shot you in the eye? Over a fucking strip club tap, disagreement. Despite Bradley's constant, pleading Aaron still had not offered to compensate him. If Bradley was trying to game him for evidence, Aaron, excuse me, would simply deny having shot him. But of course, Bradley knew who shot him.

He knew what that Aaron knew. This made Aaron's denials all the more infuriating. Bradley finally took action. For months, Bradley had been threatening to file a civil lawsuit against his former friend. He does that on June 13. Now Brian Murphy promises to see what he can do to help one of his star, big money-making clients get out of this. Later that day, Brian texts Aaron. They are voluntarily withdrawing lawsuits so we can engage in settlement talks without this getting to the media. Huge win for us.

Call me. Aaron, strangely, takes a while to respond. He's too busy texting Odin. He's planning on getting his car back from him and texts him, I'm coming to grab that tonight. You gonna be around? I need that. And we could step for a little again.

Two minutes after texting Odin Lloyd, Hernandez texts Bo Wallace. Please make it back cause I'm deaf trying to step for a little. Then Aaron texts Odin again. What up? I wear. Odin replies. Uh, IDK. It don't matter.

But if mom hit you when I'm that, like last time if my phone dies, I'ma hit you when I charge it, which will be in a little. One minute later, Aaron text Wallace again, get your ass up here. Wallace and Carlos Ortiz were at Tanya Singleton's house in Bristol, 100 miles southwest of North Adelborough. Aaron told him to hurry. They were still driving at midnight when Odin Lloyd text Hernandez again. We still on surveillance footage from the security system. Aaron's house shows Wallace and Ortiz arriving at Hernandez's house. Eight minutes later, Aaron's nanny, Jennifer lets him in. They go down to the basement to wait for Aaron's arrival.

Uh, 20 minutes later, Shaeana's Audi Q seven pulls up and Aaron and she, uh, Shaeana get out. Excuse me. Bo and Carlos walk outside to greet him. Then the four of them go back inside in the living room surveillance cameras capture Hernandez passing a gun from one hand to the other before he accompanies Wallace and Ortiz back to the basement Dude's making some stupid moves in front of his own security cameras Little while later they head back upstairs go outside climbing to a Nissan Altima Aaron had rented Why is he renting a car when he already has several fucking cars?

Brain damage? How was he able to keep his shit together and stay focused on the field? Like, like how is he so erratic personally? But on the field, it's not like he was walking out of the huddle and shooting some member of the defense in the fucking eye in the middle of a game for looking at him weird. Over the course of the next hour, Lloyd gets five calls from Wallace's cell phone. Then at two thirty in the morning, Lloyd gets five calls from Wallace's cell phone.

Then at two thirty in the morning, Hernandez picks Odin up at the door chest or home he shared with his mom and sisters. One of those sisters, Shakwila, was sitting in a car down the street when Hernandez pulled up. She watched Odin get into the Ultima. Half hour later, he sent her a text. You saw who I'm with. Why was he sending her that message?

Is he worried about something? After picking Odin up, Aaron blows through tolls, just fucking flies through them without paying him on Master's turn, turn bike, also fires a Glock 45 at road signs as they pass them. The fuck. Hernandez hits a traffic cone on the turn bike, breaks off the driver's side mirror and just, you know, just keeps on driving doesn't dress it. Maybe he thought the rental agency wouldn't notice or wouldn't care because he's the patriot. Inside the Altima, Odin

keeps checking his cell phone. It had been 10 minutes since he texted Shakwila. 10 minutes and no response. Odin sends another text, hello? Eight minutes later, Shakwila finally replies, my phone was dead. Who was that? Odin Lloyd responded, NFL. LOL, your Aggie, Shakquilla wrote back, you know, cell phone, uh, shorthand for aggravated inside the ultimate. The mood had soured one minute later, Odin sent Shequilla one final text, just so you know. And whatever he was going to text after that is cut short by something that leads to him getting murdered.

Nobody really knows what happened next. Did Aaron and Odin argue? If so, what about? Workers at an industrial park in Boston, just a mile from Hernandez's home, said they heard gunshots between 323 and 327 a.m. And then quiet. That morning, Monday, June 17th,

Aaron Hernandez is busy. Upon waking, he calls for a cleaning crew to come to his house. Interesting. Before long, three women had arrived and go straight to work. That afternoon, Hernandez, Wallace, and Ortiz left the house with storm clouds looming on the horizon. They drove to an enterprise rental location to return the Ultima he had used the night

before. As they were driving, Matthew Kent, a high school student unrelated to anyone mentioned in this story, jogged through Coralus Landing, stumbles upon Odin Lloyd's dead body. Five casings from a.45 caliber gun were found near Lloyd's body, which had five gunshot wounds to his back and side. Back at the Enterprise, Aaron exchanged the ultima for a Chrysler 300. At 515, Wallace climbed into the driver's seat of the Chrysler, Ortiz climbed into the passenger seat, and the two men headed up to the apartment Hernandez had rented in Franklin. While they drove, police secured the crime scene, setting up the tent and tarps they would use to keep the rain from washing evidence away. One piece of evidence came up right away, a pair of rental keys in Odin's pocket. Sloppy. Real sloppy. Down at the station, North Adelboro, PD quickly

traced the rental car keys back to Aaron Hernandez. They then searched Odin's cell phone and see the last batch of texts Oden had received and sent. At that point, an officer involved with the investigation remembered later, we didn't know anymore. We thought that Aaron might be dead too. At 9.30 on Monday evening, a call from Trooper Eric Benson comes through to Oden's mother Ursula Ward. Soon, officers will be telling her in person that her son is dead. Around 10.30, Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Shervin and Detective Daniel Aarigge took their unmarked Ford Escape down to Aaron's house and parked in his driveway.

Lights were on all over the house, downstairs, upstairs. From the front porch, Shervin could see into Aaron's living room. The large, flat-screen TV was on. There were half-full glasses on the coffee table, a bottle laying aside on the couch. But when Shervin knocked on the door, rang the bell several times, no one answers. Then Shervin and Riggie go around to the backyard, take another flashlight, they look for signs of forced entry, nothing. Aaron's next door neighbor happened to be the Patriots special teams coach, Joe Judge,

and when detectives, these two detectives knocked on his door, the coach tells him he hadn't seen Aaron in four days, not since June 13th at a practice. He confirmed that Hernandez played for the Patriots, but said he did not have contact info for him. Judge had no idea when Aaron would be home, but offered to call the teams head of security to try and find him. Once he had done so, leaving a message on the security director's voicemail, Shervin and Riggie go back to their SUV, pull it out of the driveway, into the street, park her cross on the house and wait. Aaron watches all of this. He's home the whole time. And now he calls his agent, Brian Murphy.

Hey, Murphy, he says there's a cop car outside my house. He's kind of sitting there. Murphy immediately asked him if he'd done anything wrong. Aaron denies that he had. So Murphy told him, just walk out of the car, ask him what they want. Half an hour after pulling out of the driveway, Trooper, Shervin, Trooper, Shervin and detective eriggy see Aaron walking towards him. Eriggy who'd been sitting in the passenger seat

walks up and meets him halfway. Did you rent a black Chevy suburban? The cop asked Fernandez. Yeah, Aaron said I rented it for my friend Oh, who's Oh, Odin. How do you know Odin? My girlfriend's sister dates him. When was the last time you saw Odin? I was up his way yesterday. Shervin asked Hernandez where Odin's way was. Boston, Aaron said, but he could not provide the exact address but said he had it in his GPS. Then Aaron said, I saw you out here on my security monitors. What's up with all the questions? I'm going to have to speak to my attorney.

Hernandez walked back up the drive, went inside the house, locking the front door behind him. Shervin and Riggie follow a moment later. Aaron opens the door, hands Shervon a business card for his lawyer. We're investigating a death, the detective says, but instead of following up, Aaron just slams the door in his face. Just a bit suspicious. Aaron is going to learn real fucking quick that he can't just ignore police who think he's committed a serious crime the same way he's been ignoring the guy he shot in the

fucking eye. Back at Ursula Ward's house ignoring the guy he shot in the fucking eye. Back at Ursula Ward's house, the task of calling Shania had also fallen to Trooper Benson, which he did at just past two in the morning, June 18. Only place Shania could think to go was her sister's house. She arrives, along with her uncle, little man, and one of her nieces, just before six in the morning, entering through the garage, walking up into the living room where she passed out. Then around eight in the morning, she watches Erin come to the front door. I've been through this death thing before," Hernandez told Shayana's sister.

It'll get better in time. Telling that to the lady whose boyfriend he just killed. Meanwhile, Shayana had been busy. While Shania slept, Shayana ran all over the house. First she took a large black garbage bag down to the basement out of view of the home surveillance cameras. Ha! Moments later, she came back up with the same black bag and left the house, taking her sister's

car. Inside of the bag, there was a box that Aaron had told her to get rid of. Then with the police outside and suspicion mounting, the couple would go down to the station to talk to the police. Aaron left the house with Shayana, who was carrying their daughter, Avio. Shayana put the girl in the back of their white Nissan Juke, climbed into the driver's seat. Aaron rose shotgun with the officers following as they made their way towards the North Adelboro police station. When they arrived, Shayana let Aaron out at the entrance, started to pull away,

let Aaron out at the entrance, started to pull away. Trooper Shervin follows, flashes his blue police lights. Shayana stops. Shervin and Aariggy walk up to her car. Did Shayana know that Odin Lloyd had been murdered? When Shervin told her that Lloyd was dead, she started to cry. Shayana told the officers that she didn't know Lloyd all that well but knew that he dated her sister.

She said he smoked, probably dealt marijuana, and that the last time she'd seen him was Saturday morning. Just to end, Shayana's phone rings, it's Aaron, and he tells her that his agent Murph has said not to talk to the cops. Sheyana relays that message to the cops and then speeds away. After that, triangulation of some cell phone towers proved that she drove to Franklin, then to the state line between Connecticut and Rhode Island. Prosecutors will later think that Sheyana went to Git and then dispose of Aaron's guns. And on her way to the state line, Cheyenne drove to an ATM in Plainville where she and

Aaron had once lived. She withdrew the maximum $500, then drove to another ATM in Coventry, Rhode Island, makes another $500 withdrawal. Having done so, Cheyenne then meets up with Beau Wallace, Carlos Ortiz at a McDonald's in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, Aaron stole the police station. He was led to a second-floor interview room. He asked detectives for a phone charger.

Then asked if the lights could be turned off. If he could lie on the floor, because his back was bothering him, he explained. He is so relaxed, just like when he slept after going to be questioned about a situation back in Florida when he was in college. I suspect he 100% still thought he was going to get away with all this. Right? Just going to blow over. His agent, his coach, his lawyers, they're going to make it go away and he can go back

to doing whatever the fuck he wants to do. Half an hour later, Hernandez's lawyers, Michael Fee and Robert Jones arrived at the station. Aaron had not been placed under arrest, had not been questioned yet. When his lawyers arrived, he's allowed to leave with them. He's going to be fine. Right? He's untouchable.

Detective Elliott stays in the station until well past three in the morning, June 18th. He knows that the longer he goes before he arrests the suspect, the harder it's gonna be to catch Odin Lloyds killer. After a couple hours of sleep, he returns, runs into State Police Lieutenant Michael King in the parking lot.

Right, he's back at it. Both realized that the local enterprise rent a car office is already open. King, Elliot, drive down, discovered that Aaron had returned in Ultima the day before had checked a Chrysler 300 out of the lot. They find that the Ultima had already been cleaned and that it had been damaged. The driver side mirror was gone. There were scratches down the car side. Then, Elliott drives down to Coralus Landing where Odin Lloyd's body had been found.

First, he goes to Metalore, a gold refinery business with barbed wire around it and 24-7 security that stood at the entrance of the park. Detective Elliott knew the company well, North Adelboro PD kept a close watch on the premises. If there was a video of the Altima going into the park, Metalore would have it. And they did. Fucking jackpot, right? This is huge. So did the North Adelboro Electric Department on the far side of the clearing. All in all, there will be seven different videos of that Nissan Altima pulling in then out of that clearing. Piece by piece, the case against Aaron Hernandez is starting to come into focus. On Tuesday afternoon, a few hours after Detective Elliott's visit to the industrial park, Trooper

Michael Shervin, Sergeant Paul Baker, Assistant DA Patrick Bromberg, excuse me, and several other police officers drive back down to Aaron and Cheyenne's house. Cheyenne answered the door, Aaron was inside, on the couch, motherfucker didn't even bother to get up when the police entered. So calm, right? It'll all blow over. This time they had brought a search warrant with them, and now while the police were searching his house, Hernandez went down to the basement to his man cave as Cheyenne

would call it, and started to play pool with Cheyenne's uncle, Littleman. TV's on, game six, the NBA finals is about to start, Aaron totally calm. When they leave the house, the police took several evidence bags with them. These bags contained a bunch of shit, including a DVR with surveillance footage from 14 cameras Aaron had installed around the house. Right, him getting that gun, gonna come back to haunt him. On Wednesday morning, Hernandez drove to Gillette Stadium.

There was news trucks parked in the parking lot, news helicopters hovering overhead. Aaron just casually makes his way to the weight room. Acts like nothing is wrong. He remains there working out until team owner Robert Kraft comes down to meet him. In an office adjoining the weight room, Kraft voices his concerns as if Aaron is involved in any way with the murder. Hernandez gave Kraft a big hug,

the kiss said he had nothing to do with it. Aaron also met with Mike Briggs, the team's director of security, who wanted to hear from Hernandez himself that he was not involved in the murder. Hernandez assured Briggs he was not. He swore on his daughter Avile's life, he was telling the truth.

Really putting on a show, right? He finished his workout, then he headed home. H was telling the truth. Really putting on a show. Right. He finishes work out. Then he headed home hours later. A car drove towards Aaron's house parked next to the news vans that has started to gather. The man inside was there to serve Aaron Hernandez. The summons was from Wachs and Burnett, a Miami firm known for representing passengers injured in cruise ship accents. Wachs and Burnett, uh, Barnett, that was a law firm that Alexander

Bradley had retained. That problem still not gone away. Not easy to get a guy who you shot in the fucking face and left for dead, you know, to leave you alone. When he lifts that same evening, the results of Odin Lloyd's autopsy released, the death that officially been ruled a homicide, reporters are telling their editors that Hernandez has ties to Lloyd. Now the media outlets begin to report that Hernandez has not been ruled out as a suspect. Simultaneously, TMZ breaks the news of Alexander Bradley's civil suit. Hernandez's name is all over the news, and for all the wrong reasons. Several reporters dig up Hernandez's 2010 NFL Scouting Report and write articles with

headlines like Aaron Hernandez's NFL entry. What did scouts know back then? As the day draws to a close, Ted Daniel of Boston's Fox affiliate took to Twitter with a series of breaking announcements. 9.26 PM Law Source Places Hernandez and Victim in Two Locations 10.12 PM Law Source Aaron Hernandez was driver a vehicle, Oden Lloyd and two others in. Lloyd found dead one mile from Hernandez home. 10, 15 p.m. Two Law Sources. Homicide victim Oden Lloyd sent text to a friend

that included a reference to Aaron Hernandez. 10, 18 p.m. Law Source. Four men together in vehicle, only three returned to Aaron Hernandez's home. Oden Lloyd, not one of them. Not looking good. By daybreak on Thursday, the streets around 22 Ronald C. Meyer Drive are packed with news vans from Boston, Providence, and Hartford.

And now, news stations are saying that Aaron is directly tied to the homicide. Meanwhile, police are trying to figure out why Aaron's security system looks like it had been destroyed intentionally. Also want to know why Aaron's cell phone had been in pieces when his attorneys finally gave it to investigators. They want to know why cleaners have been called out on June 17th to scrub the whole house down. For the moment, Aaron is still a free man, but hot damn.

It is looking like he is not going to stay that way for long. Climbing into Shayana's SUV, he drove past the reporters and headed out to Gillette Stadium from the air. A new helicopter traces movements, reminding viewers of O.J. Simpson and his white Bronco. Upon his arrival at the stadium at 11.23 in the morning, Aaron ran into Mark Briggs. I said, Mike, earlier, it is Mark Briggs, security director. And it's the reality of what, you know, was about to happen to him hadn't

already set in. It had to have now. The director of security told him to leave the property immediately. Aaron's being there was bad for business, Briggs said, and Aaron agreed to go. This would be the last time he will ever set foot anywhere near a football field. That afternoon, media outlets began to report that the Patriots have banned Aaron from the stadium. And that same day, the enterprise manager called Detective Elliot and says, hey, I forgot something. I forgot about this fucking bullet casing in the Ultima I found.

We threw it away, but I remember it was in there. How the fuck did she forget that? Considering the circumstances, luckily the dumpster had not been emptied. That's a huge break for detectives. Security footage from Aaron's house and Aaron's cell phone had been destroyed, but now they had this Detective Elliot said he'd be right down then on Saturday June 22nd State troopers and North Adelboro PD returned Aaron's home with yet another search warrant and several police dogs Aaron unbelievably seemed to still be perfectly at ease. He's playing with his daughter Making casual conversation with the cops watching TV

After four hours search of the house the police leave with a dozen evidence bags, a 7, uh, 62 times 30, 39 millimeter caliber semi-automatic Hungarian made AK-47, a century safe, the Canadian box 22 caliber ammo. Monday, June 24th, detectives now speak with Carlos Ortiz. He denied any knowledge of the shooting. But then the detectives told him that Aaron had eight million dollars for an attorney and he didn't Did he really want to take the fall for all this shit? The police showed Ortiz the surveillance footage they had there He was Ortiz could see himself clearly with Wallace and Hernandez at the gas station. They'd stopped that before picking Lloyd up in Boston Derrigation started at two in the afternoon

Lasted, you know, straight went straight into the evening. Finally, Elliot Moran got Ortiz to admit that he was in the Ultima asleep. He said, then he said he heard shots or tease was shocked. He explained hypnotized nine hours into the interrogation. Carlos Ortiz submitted to a polygraph, failed it. Fucking polygraphs.

Why are they still being used? Uh, the results, not admissible in court, why are they still being used? The results, not admissible in court, however, they do remain popular with law enforcement because the fear of being caught in a lie, often enough to make people tell the truth. So I guess I get that. Following the failed test, Ortiz changed his story. He had opened the door, he explained, but he had not stepped out of the car. Also said it was too dark to see Hernandez shoot Lloyd. But right after hearing the gunshots, Ortiz said he had watched Aaron run back to the car, cradling the gun in his hand. So he might as well have seen him shoot Odin.

His words were the final nail in Aaron's coffin. A dead giveaway, one might say, that Aaron was Odin's killer. I gave away, I gave away I never thought big testicles Cause we see this door everyday Just when you thought it was gone Out of your head again By Wednesday June 26, the case against Aaron Hernandez seemed pretty fucking bulletproof That morning the police marched Aaron out of his house in handcuffs

The Patriots arms, mostly hidden inside a white v-neck t-shirt That stretched over his hulking frame like a giant stray jacket. Less than two hours after Aaron's arrest, another news bulletin had come in. The Patriots had officially cut Hernandez from the team. A young man was murdered this week and we extend our sympathies to the family and friends who mourn his loss, the team said in a statement. Words cannot express the disappointment, we feel, knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation.

Aaron's life as he knew it was fucking over. I don't think he's allowed that to sink in, though. At the courthouse, Hernandez, still dressed in the red shorts and white t-shirt he'd been arrested in, he betrayed no emotion while charges against him were read. Then the prosecutors began to lay out the evidence. The last text from Odin Lloyd sent at 3.23 am surveillance footage of the Nissan Altima leaving the clearing four minutes later. Then Aaron was brought to the Bristol County Jail in Massachusetts, only about 120 miles from his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut. Hernandez was asked a series of standard questions, sent down the hall for a mental health interview which showed nothing abnormal. Then he was put into a one-man holding cell, standard operating procedure for famous prisoners, seclusion from the prison's general population. At two in the afternoon,

Thursday, June 27th, the day after his arraignment, Aaron Hernandez was driven to the Bristol County Courthouse in Fall River for his bail hearing. James Sultan, one of Aaron's lawyers, argued that his celebrity status would make it difficult for him to flee, as well as ties to his fiance and daughter. Aaron would agree to post for him to flee, as well as ties to his fiancee and daughter. Erin would agree to post a large cash bail and also do house arrest and a GPS tracking bracelet. But Judge Renee Dupuis not into it. She pointed out it was very rare for bail to be granted in first degree murder cases,

and she called the circumstantial evidence against Hernandez very, very strong. Shayana burst into tears when Aaron's bail is denied. She has to see the writing on the wall, right? She fucking has to. But Aaron, I think he still thought he's gonna be fine. He's a little bummed with the road. He betrays no emotion. That evening, Massachusetts police now issue a warrant poster for Ernest Bo Wallace. He'd soon turn himself in from his mother's house in Florida. Saturday, July 6th, the Patriots announced that fans who had bought Hernandez jerseys could swap them out for different, uh, different players. By five o'clock in the afternoon, the team's pro shop processed 1200 exchanges.

Aaron sponsors Puma and the makers of Muscle Milk already dropped him. In the weeks that followed EA sports would remove him from their video games, which kind of a bummer because he's pretty fucking good player. Uh, Pranina America, a trading card company would take him out of their sticker books and replace his trading cards with ones that featured Tim Tebow. And the University of Florida would remove his name from the stadium in which he had played a task that required the use of a bunch of power tools. Everyone thinks this motherfucker is guilty as hell. Aaron Hernandez no longer thought of as a star football player.

He's thought of as a former football player and murderer, a murderer who used to play football. Two days, July 16th, three weeks after Aaron's arrival at the Bristol County Jail, Sheriff Thomas Hodgson holds a press conference to discuss his famous new inmate. Hernandez is locked in a seven by 10 foot cell for 21 hours a day. Hodgson told the assembled reporters, the rest of his time is spent in the exercise yard making collect phone calls or taking a hot shower. He doesn't have any physical contact with other inmates, but that's mostly for his own safety.

He was being held in near solitary confinement. August 1st, Shayana calls Aaron to tell him that Tanya had been arrested for contempt of court for refusing to testify in Aaron's grand jury trial. She had refused because Aaron made her an offer. He told her that he had already set up a trust fund that Jano, her son with Jeffrey Cummings, and Eddie, the child she had with TL, could access when they turned 18. This manipulative fuck actually had not made that account. But Tanya believed him.

She'd stay quiet even though she was subsequently indicted for conspiracy to commit murder, a charge that, if convicted, would send her to prison for a long time. Erin had also talked to his estranged mom, Terry. During a phone call, he told her, You have a big mouth. There's so many things I'd like. I would love to talk to you so that you can know me as a person. But I never could tell you and you're going to die without ever knowing your son. Many people would wonder, once those statements became public, what things did he want to tell her? How many dead bodies? Had he left in his wake? August 22nd, Hernandez formally indicted for the murder. August 27th, he submits a urine test, turns out positive for Neurontin, a prescription drug used typically to combat seizures or as a

painkiller, aggressive behavior, suicidal thoughts, somewhat common side effects. August 28th, one day before the NFL reached a tentative $765 million brain injury settlement with 18,000 retired players, Rolling Stone magazine published a story suggesting that Hernandez was a habitual user of PCP. Among other things, PCP, known to cause hallucinations, paranoia, hyper-aggression, feelings of invulnerability, and violent behavior. Aaron needed none of that. He already had all that. Does that explain his behavior more than anything else? I always forget about PCP. So

thankful I don't run in circles where PCP is a go-to recreational drug. Meanwhile, the walls are closed in on Aaron. The police have started digging into other murders like the murder of two men outside of Boston nightclub. An anonymous caller will point to Aaron's guilt in those murders. Let's fast forward to February 2014. February 25th, Aaron Hernandez punches a shackled inmate in the face. Why not? The guy probably has stared at him for a second too long.

Maybe he breathes funny. Or maybe he didn't pay him back for a cigarette he borrowed or something. Afterwards, Hernandez is charged with assault and battery given two weeks of straight up solitary confinement. He just won't fucking stop. He's continually violent. I mean, I get wanting to punch people all the time, and it would be fun to punch people all the time if you're as big and strong and probably as good at punching as Aaron was, but maybe not worth all the legal consequences. Hernandez was cited for possessing paraphernalia, signaling his allegiance to the Bloods as well now. Uh, dude, maybe wanted to be a gangster more than he wanted to be a football

player. Five weeks later, when a corrections officer denies him an extra meal, Aaron calls that guy a scared bitch and says that when he gets out, he's going to kill that guy and shoot up his family. I like, maybe like a wee bit of an overreaction. Several disciplinary reports describe multiple fights Aaron got into with other inmates. All in all, in the course of ten months that he spent in the Bristol County Jails segregated unit, Hernandez racked up 120 days of solitary confinement.

But that was nothing compared to what was coming for him in court. By the start of 2014, the police had effectively closed the book on Odin's murder. They also felt Aaron was their guy in the nightclub double homicide, in the shooting of Alexander Bradley. Hammer is coming down on his close friends and family as well. Carlos Ortiz, Ernest Wallace had already been indicted as accessories after the fact to the murder of Odin Lloyd. Prosecutors subsequently will up the charges to straight up murder.

And Shayana Jenkins had been charged with a single kind of perjury. Prosecutors alleged she had lied a full 29 times to Aaron's grand jury Oscar Papu Hernandez had also been indicted for lying to Aaron's grand jury Odin Lloyd's family now had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Aaron Hernandez and the families of Daniel Debraio and Sefirro Furtado had done the same Soldier wasn't charged with shit. He went AWOL That was stupid May May 15, 2014. Aaron Hernandez himself indicted for two more counts of first-degree murder, three counts

of armed assault with intent to murder, and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Charges resulting from the investigation into the double murders in Boston. July 9th, Hernandez moved to Boston's Suffolk County Jail where he'll spend an uneventful and incident-free six months. He also seemed pretty happy. His mood and prison, for the most part, are great. I mean, if he really did prefer men to women sexually and he loved gangsters in the gangster

lifestyle, he's not in the worst place. He's young, strong, famous, surrounded by a lot of tough guys. He may have found sexy, who were there for doing the kind of shit he respects, who admire him for being an NFL tight end. Was he in prison or heaven? Uh, strangely, some family and friends will later speak to how Aaron seemed happier than he had been, uh, you know, in years while he was in prison. January 8, 2015, Hernandez sent back to Bristol County jail, where he will remain for the

duration of his trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd. January 29, 2015, the trial for Lloyd will begin. Before Judge Susan Garsh, Assistant DA Patrick Bomberg, one of four prosecutors assigned to the case, laid out the commonwealth's position. As he did, Aaron did not look around the courtroom at Cheyenne or his family or with the families of his victims. Just stared ahead, 100% emotional. February 1, three days after the start of the trial, Patriots win the Super Bowl. Super Bowl, Super Bowl XL, 1X.

Super Bowl, Roman numerals. Brady and Gronk dominated on the field. What did Aaron think about that? If he hadn't been so needlessly blown up his fucking life, I mean, he would have been on the field with them, part of the domination. He would have been in the locker room, where everyone's overjoyeded being sprayed down by champagne instead

He's in jail on trial for one murder about to be tried for two more other charges To you know two more murders and other charges after months of speculation on whether or not she would Excuse me. Shea Anna will take the stand March 27th 2015 Wearing her huge engagement ring. She smiles at Aaron and mouths. I love you The DA began by asking Shea Anna about the night after Odin Lloyd's murder Sean described driving Aaron to the police station afterward when he got home from the police station, she said when I had found out that Odin was murdered I asked him if he did it. He said no and that was the extent of our conversation

Bullshit, I highly doubt that was the end of the conversation. Hey, did you kill him? No, okay, then hey you want pasta for dinner or I'll see I could grab some fish The DA dove right in asking she on about her role and disposing of evidence that was crucial to the prosecution's case against Hernandez Specifically the DA had in mind a black box that they believed contained the Glock 45 Aaron shot Lloyd with. I was instructed to take it out of the home, Jenkins said. She said she didn't remember where she dumped it. Oh, she forgot. That's not suspicious at all. March 31st, Robert Kraft owner of the Patriots will testify. The DA asked him about what Hernandez had said to him the night of

Odin Lloyd's murder. He said he was not involved, that he was innocent, and that he hoped that the time of the murder incident came out because I believe he said he was in a club. Gasp's were now heard in the courtroom. Nobody before had said that they had gone to a club, not Aaron, not the others, no witnesses. It was the first possible boldface lie of Aaron's they'd heard about in the courtroom. Also, how the fuck did Aaron know when the murder had been committed at the time? Right, it was obvious to everyone in the room that if Kraft was telling the truth, then

why wouldn't he be, Aaron had lied to him on June 19th. And not only that, but he lied badly. Following day, April Fool's Alexander Bradley takes a stand, drives several more nails into his former friend's coffin. Judge Garh should rule against him telling the jury about Bradley's claim that Hernandez had shot him, and about the civil suit that Bradley filed. The jury did get to hear about Bradley's own rap sheet, drug bust and a shooting in Hartford he was involved in.

Within two and a half minutes of taking the stand, Bradley admitted to being a drug dealer. Nevertheless, his testimony was pretty damning. Bradley told the jury that Aaron had purchased as much as four ounces of weed from him at a cost of $1,200 to $1,500 on a weekly basis starting in 2010. And he told the jury about all the weapons that Aaron had. He stared right at Aaron when he said that, kind of. His remaining eye stared right at Aaron. His new eye, his thanks a lot, Aaron, eye, kind of did its own thing.

By the end of the trial, prosecutors had all but proven that Aaron had been in the clearing on the night of the murder. And then he was a dude who loved being fucking high, loved being strapped, loved hanging out with people he considered some sort of gangster. The total picture painted for the jury about a man covered in tattoos,

many of which looked like gang tattoos, not a good one. The defense's closing statements would take place April 7th. The defense had one thing on their side. There was no clear motive that Aaron had for murdering Odin. The defense kept hammering the point home of how killing Odin Lloyd was simply a very stupid move for Aaron. Quote, if Aaron planned in advance to murder Odin, why would he do so in his own town,

in an open location less than a mile from his home? If Aaron had planned in advance to murder Odin, why would he leave keys to a car he had rented in Odin's pocket, along with Odin's cell phone and wallet? And for that matter, why did Odin still have his cell phone? If Aaron had planned in advance to murder Odin Lloyd, why would he bring along two witnesses? And if Aaron had planned in advance to murder Odin Lloyd, why was a blunt found at the scene? A blunt shared by none other than Aaron Hernandez and Oden Lloyd, two friends who shared an interest in marijuana. Now DA William McCauley took his turn. The DA pointed out that in every piece of video evidence they had seen and in so much testimony, Aaron had

quote, control the actions of everyone around him. He told everyone what to do. He was a dude in charge. He loved being the man, the guy who got shit done. So why would he be an accessory, a bystander to murder? The jury deliberated for more than six days before returning with a verdict. Guilty. Aaron licked his lips, mouthed the word unreal, but betrayed no outward emotion. Then less than five hours after the jurors had delivered their verdict, the court handed down a state mandated sentence. You've committed or you're committed to MCI's Cedar Junction for the term of your

natural life without the possibility of parole. At Cedar Junction, where he'll be kept in isolation, Aaron will insist on his innocence. After just a week, he'll be transferred to Suza Baranowski Correctional Center, Maximum Security Facility in Shirley, Massachusetts. Here within only a few days, an inmate will give Aaron a new tattoo. An elaborate, professional-looking five-point-a-star on his neck and words written across it, lifetime loyalty, commonly associated with the bloods. He told guards he was eager to be a model prisoner, but that will not happen. Between May of 2015 and October of the following year, Hernandez will rack up a dozen disciplinary offenses. The list

includes three fistfights, two offenses related to smoking, two prison tattoos, and the possession of a sharpened six-inch metal shiv. Also, he started using K2, synthetic marijuana known to cause extreme paranoia and hallucinations. Dude, stop taking shit that makes you paranoid! January 9, 2017, Alexander Bradley sentenced to five years in prison, five more in parole, for his role in a 2014 nightclub shooting in Hartford. Bradley copped a plea. No contest or criminal possession of a firearm, first degree criminal endangerment, and third degree criminal mischief.

Months earlier, prosecutors had granted Bradley immunity in exchange for testifying against Hernandez in the upcoming trial for the 2012 double murder. Now that trial will begin. This time around, Hernandez hires Jose Baez. The high-profile Florida lawyer, famous or infamous for having represented an Orlando woman we've talked about here before, Casey fucking piece of shit Anthony, in her sensational murder trial which famously ended in Anthony's acquittal even though, come on, she's guilty as fuck.

Aaron had a big advantage in this case over his previous one. The prosecution's entire case revolved in the testimony of an admitted drug dealer, Alexander Bradley, but Bradley was prepared. He was good on the stand. He readily admitted, uh, you know, to his drug dealing past. He gave precise details about the night of the double murder. He went point by point through the weird ass text messages he'd exchanged with Hernandez.

Uh, I'm guessing the jury was as confused by the tone of those messages as I've been. Bias's line was a simple one. Alexander Bradley shooting by Aaron Hernandez was a drug deal gone wrong. Bradley really didn't remember who shot him, and he decided to get money from his famous friend just because he thought he could. Since Bradley was the only one of the witnesses, was one of the only witnesses to the double homicide, that meant his perspective on that night was bunk. D.A. Patrick Hagan began his closing statement by admitting that Aaron Hernandez's

actions were senseless and illogical. If there was a motive in the killings of the, uh, Debraio and Furtado, it would not have been one that the jury could have understood. But the lack of a motivation did not mean that Hernandez did not do it. After all, what motivation did he have in the killing of Odin Lloyd? Touche. The jury's deliberated for 37 hours

over the course of five and a half days. April 14th, 2017, they returned to the courtroom, not guilty for the double murders. Also not guilty of witness intimidation, not guilty of armed assault and attempt to murder. The one charge Aaron was found guilty of was the smallest, the legal possession of a firearm. Members of the victim's family broke down in tears now. Aaron also cried in public like a fucking weak little baby. God, his fucking dad would have been so ashamed, gross. I guess you didn't care about being a man

anymore. Uh, his other case was in appeal, which meant could be halfway to freedom. He seemed jubilant. Back at the prison, he would now tell his inmates he was looking forward to being back with his family. Almost there. He's going to go back in the NFL. He seemed to actually think he was going to get back to scoring touchdowns again and trying to win the Super Bowl. April 18, 2017, the Patriots would won the Super Bowl again that year. Would be going to the White House next morning. Aaron spoke with Cheyenne on the phone, then he went up to his cell. Few hours later, at around one in the morning, Aaron hung part of the bed sheet over the

window cut into the door of his cell. Jammed the rail, the door ran on, with ripped up pieces of cardboard. Then he opened his Bible to the book of John, wrote John 316 and read ink on his forehead. Same passage, his old friend Tim Tebow had occasionally written on his black face paint. Slicing into his right middle finger, Aaron used his own blood to mark the same passage in his Bible. He wrote John 316 in his blood, on the wall of a cell, and drew a crude pyramid like the one in the back of a $1 bill.

Beneath that, he wrote the word Illuminati. How much fucking K2 had he been smoking? Leaving several handwritten notes by the side of the Bible, he also made large, stigmata-like marks in blood on both of his feet. Then, stripped, completely naked, he poured several bottles of shampoo from the prison canteen all over the floor, picked up another part of the bedsheet which he had twisted tightly into a rope, Hernandez tied one end of the twisted sheet to the top of one of the vertical slats on the window across the door to his cell. The crossbar, uh, just five feet from the floor.

There was a metal desk directly beneath it, a metal chair next to that. Both bolted right into the wall. First he rolled up some towels and stuck them to the crossbar so that the twisted sheet would not slide down the vertical slat, then tied the other end of the sheet around his neck. This was no cry for help. This was a man making sure his suicide attempt was going to work. He let his feet slide out on the very slippery floor, and the news he made did the rest.

By the time the guards found him, he was dead. Immediately so many questions. Why had he done it? Wasn't he just so happy? Didn't he just think he was going to win his appeal and get out of prison? Had he committed suicide or was he murdered? His agent, Brian Murphy, attorney, Jose Baez refused to believe Aaron had committed suicide. Along with Shayana, they believe that Aaron was excited to come home.

Be that again. Others believe he did what he did because a secret that worried him more than murder had gotten out. A few days earlier, Boston reporter had gone on the radio, gav'd about rumors that Aaron was leading a double life. Before long, tabloids were floating the idea that a cellmate he'd had, young man named Kyle Kennedy, had been his prison lover. Rumors would soon surface that one of the suicide notes Aaron left behind was for Kennedy. And how crazy is that? A life sentence in prison for murder and losing his NFL contract does not make him suicidal. But the thought of people fighting out he slept with a dude did make him suicidal. Man, good job Dennis, way to raise your boy. Months later, May 17, Shayana Jenkins appeared on Philip McGraw's television program. Program better known as Dr. Phil. There was no note intended for Kennedy, she assured Dr. Phil.

When Dr. Phil asked her if Aaron was gay, Shayiana assured him that he was not. She said he was very much a man to me. Well, that doesn't mean shit. How many serial killers have we covered who killed over and over and over, and their wives had no idea? Scary how little you can know about the person who sleeps next to you in bed most nights. So many of us, so fucking good at keeping secrets. Makes me wonder, you know, what Lindsay's really up to. I mean, we all know she's not obedient, not even a little bit subservient.

God knows what she does when she's alone, since I certainly can't control her. As the summer draws to a close, Aaron Hernandez makes headlines yet again. September 21, 2017, researchers at Boston University announced the startling results of their thorough examination of Hernandez's brain. Not only did the brain exhibit symptoms of CTE, it showed signs of Stage 3 CTE, worst case ever seen in a player as young as Aaron Hernandez. Aaron's brain was quote, totally mangled, one of the researchers would say. And with that, let's hop made it back. Barely. Man, Aaron Hernandez, what a tremendously sad and just confusing story. Someone with

so much natural talent, so much natural ability, the hone to make him a dominating force on the football field, natural talent, also paved the way for him to receive numerous hits to the head. That would help, along with PCP and other drugs, turn him into a paranoid, terrifying, murderous dude. How much is CTE to blame for what he did? I feel like CTE, his CTE was a decent, but not huge slice of the pie that led Aaron to murder. I feel like the self-hatred that came with subscribing to the truly toxic masculinity

his father lived and breathed was a much bigger slice. I mean, take away either slice, and I feel like his life would have turned out very differently. Instead of him turning into a reckless killer, if he had a more empathetic and nurturing father, more stable mother who had made better life choices, CTE could have certainly turned him into a dude who struggled more with life know, with life in general, for getting things, general confusion, depression, suicidal ideation, a lot of horrible things. But his underlying temperament would have been so different, right? I doubt he would have surrounded himself with the gangster types like soldier hung out in

scrappy clubs all the time where he wanted to prove how he was the biggest man there by getting in needless fights, maybe shooting friends and foes over fucking nothing. How many other young guys in NFL are going to suffer from CTE? Probably so, so many. Right? I mean, despite, uh, you know, er, excuse me, advances in helmet technology is reducing impact from hits, but it can only reduce the harm so much. And despite advancements in headgear safety, according to ESPN, there was an 18% increase

in concussions from just 2021 to 2022, just one season. More guys are taking hard shots to the head than ever before. With modern nutritional supplements, training techniques, creating bigger, faster athletes, I think it's only going to get worse. Right, the NFL says they're serious about combating the effects of CTE, but if that was true, why did they add another game to the regular season in 2021? The totality of headshots does more to give players CTE than the occasional, exceptionally hard shot. And the only way to reduce the totality of hits to the head is to either change the rules

substantially in a way that would make the game unrecognizable or reduce either the length of games or the number of games played. But that's not going to happen because of money. The National Football League's revenue in 2022 was $18.6 billion. An increase from $17.19 billion in 2021. Highest revenue figure to date. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has set a goal for $25 billion in annual league revenue by 2027. There's simply too much money to be made for the actual safety of players to ever be made a true priority.

Football is an exceptionally violent sport and the only way to keep players truly safe is for them not to play it. And with so much money to be made, with more and more $100 million plus contracts being handed out and the additional endorsements that come with those contracts, it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. And it's a fun game. I played a little bit. My son, Kyler, wanted to play when he was in high school. And while we didn't ban him, we also didn't go out of our way to support him playing football. We were glad when he picked tennis and soccer instead. We had to talk about it.

If it meant the world to him, if he was exceptionally talented and maybe could lead to a scholarship to college, okay, then maybe it's worth the risk. But he has a wonderful mind. He skipped a year of school, could have skipped more because of his academic talent. And even though I do like watching football, I am glad my son did not play it and risk that beautiful mind specifically because of the risks of CTE. Right, that 2017 study of autopsies, 376 NFL players 91.7 of them had CT over 9 and 10 had at least some fucking brain damage. That's terrifying. How much that damage came before even entering college?

I don't know. And we'll never know how much of Aaron's brain damage led to him doing all the shit he did, but it certainly did not help. Time for today's takeaways. Number one, Aaron Hernandez murdered Odin Lloyd for reasons that are still mysterious to us in the early morning hours of June 17, 2013. We will probably never know why, but many people have speculated was Aaron afraid that Odin would out his infidelities to Shayana?

Did he think that Odin had betrayed him for some paranoid reason? Was his brain just so scrambled he was not processing reality correctly and couldn't think straight? Maybe the last one Number two killing Odin was far from Aaron's only violent act in 2012 He very likely murdered two men outside of nightclub in Boston and back in Florida He may have been responsible for shooting two guys from a nightclub. And he likely tried to kill his no-homo text buddy, Alexander Bradley, in 2013. Number three, CTE is a real problem for the NFL. The league has been slow to recognize

it, partly because it opens them up to a lot of legal liability and partially because CTE cannot be confirmed until researchers have looked at a player's brain post-mortem. But new technology like better helmets and better awareness of the risks associated with football could potentially save lives down the line. Playing extra games every season, though, that will not help at all when it comes to CTE. 4. Aaron Killed Himself April 19, 2017 in prison, just days after he had been found innocent of the double homicide in Boston in 2014. Still unclear why he did this, but some have speculated it was because he had just been outed as gay or bisexual perhaps to the media. Number five, new info. CTE is not the only is not only concerned for football players. Understanding condition may have

serious repercussions for explaining other violent incidents in society like mass shootings. Recently, October 25, 2023, a man named Robert Card carried out a deadly mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine. The attack left 18 people dead, 13 wounded at a bowling alley in nearby bar before the suspected gunman was found dead near a river 10 miles outside Lewiston. Amid a search for answers to explain the senseless atrocity by those who knew Card investigators,

the Lewiston community and the public at large came speculation that he may have suffered from CTE. Personal accounts from those who knew him and interviews with experts suggest he may have sustained brain damage during his time in the military, according to a New York Times report. Card's brain is currently under examination by Boston University CTE Center to determine whether he had the disorder. A spokesperson told the Independent

that the results will not be available for six to eight months. Time sucked. Tough. Five. Take away. Football, brain damage, and murder. The Aaron Hernandez story has been sucked. I want to learn about this one for a while. Man, what a rapid rise and fall.

Uh, thank you to the Queen of Bad Magic and the rest of team, including Tyler C. The Suck Ranger, uh, recording this show, uh, and Sophie Evans providing initial research this week. Tyler, uh, this is his last show he'll be recording. We are sad to see him go, but happy for him to return to the place he worked before here. Oh my gosh, is Tyler help me out? Is alien gear houses. There we go.

There we go. And Tyler, you can explain, but I know like, you know, part of the reason for this move is, you know, there's, there's just, you've done a great job here. I know you've liked being here, but there's like not room for like advancement, position wise here But there is there and they gave you like a great new role in charge of people. Yeah guys Dan fired me No, no, I love it here and I probably would have never I would have retired from black magic If they would have had me if it were not for the offer that I received so love Dan and Lindsay love you guys

Thanks so much for having me and embracing me in the community. It's been a great, great ride. And we, yeah, we've had so much fun with Tyler, you know, definitely sad to see him go. Definitely happy for his opportunities. And, uh, you know, we're going to talk to Tyler more about it all, uh, for our Patreon Space Lizards, do a little like, uh, just, yeah, just, uh, you know, casual conversation about his ride here and where he's going and, you know, feel free to still, you know, reach out to him on socials, wishing him good luck, thanking him for the time he's been here.

Yeah, like truly, yeah, truly, truly happy for the opportunities he's going to have at Alien Gear. Thanks, dad. Yeah, man, truly, yeah, yeah. Weirdly, like, I don't know. Proud of you. Like, yeah, just he's a really, really good dude. And he's a great worker. And I think he's going to kick ass over there. And yeah, very excited, very excited for him. Thanks to the Spacers on Patreon for continuing to support this show. Get early with his ad free episodes. And by the way, the content will not change. Going forward, all the plans remain the same.

Thanks to all the all seen eyes moderating the Col cult of curious private Facebook page mod squad, making sure the discord channel stays fun. And thanks to everyone over on the time sucks subreddit and bad magic subreddit. And you can go to bad magic productions.com. Now our new site for merch and everything else. Now let's head over to this week's time sucker updates. and everything else. Now let's head over to this week's Time Sucker updates. Updates? Get your Time Sucker updates! Uh, gonna start off with a quick hit from sweet sucker Jake Lewis. No subject line. Here's what he wrote.

Hello, Master Sucker. New where spaces are here. Hope all is well with you and yours. I'm emailing because my girlfriend's having a rough time at work and she loves Time Suck. Heather is a VA disability attorney, long time Time Sucker. It would mean a whole lot if you would shout her out on next week's podcast. Love ya, keep on sucking, Jake. Well, thank you, Jake. Heather, what a cool-ass job you have. Fighting for vets to get their needed treatment properly covered. At least I'm assuming you do that. Or a cool equivalent. Thank you for dedicating yourself to such a righteous cause. Nimrod is self-pleased.

And I hope this week is better for you than the week you were having when Jake wrote in. Now go give Jake a big hug, a kiss, and maybe leave it at that. Or maybe he's gonna leave somewhere else. You know, whatever makes you happy. Now a cool message from a cool sack, Michelle Roy. She wrote in with a subject line of,

he snapped his fingers. Dear Master, Suckerson DC, for first time long time, I'm compelled to write you regarding your black whole episode, specifically the part there in regarding how science and religion need not be constantly beating the shit out of each other. I'm a 57 year old introverted lady married 30 years to an agnostic. I thrive on critical thinking, deep dives on anything that piques my curiosity, laugh at as much as possible, and donuts.

Ideally nonstop donuts, but realistically, sometimes treat. I feel you. I love donuts so much. I was raised Catholic and have always been a Christian, but was not confirmed into the Catholic Church until recently. Think of confirmation as a baptism. Babies being baptized have godparents who speak for the baby. Confirmation is an adult confirming they're ready to fully embrace the faith.

I waited because I had real issues with the history of the Catholic Church. I still do. But I took the time to really learn about the faith. I fell in love with it. One of the things I learned was that the Church embraces scientific discovery. I was thrilled because science is my friend. I believe in evolution, the Big Bang, other theories that are rejected by many fundamentalists.

My thinking goes like this. Evolution and really all facets of science are God's blueprints for everything. Science is His process. The Big Bang was God's snap in His fingers, not literally, but then, again, who knows, LOL. When we make a scientific discovery, we are uncovering another part of the blueprint. Now I believe that God gave us minds to learn about and understand these blueprints, but only in the fullness of time. If Jesus would have tried to explain physics in black holes and that someday their distant progeny would bounce around on the moon, their heads would have exploded if they believed

that he was actually sane and not a warlock or demon. I believe that things are ultimately revealed to us as we can handle them, and I believe that's by design. My theory may not be the way it actually is, but it absolutely works for me and goes against nothing in the faith I love. Anyway, sorry, not sorry for the length of this email and any typos. Actually, you didn't have any typos.

I thought you might be interested in my take on this subject because it seems to dovetail with yours. I adore your curiosity, the internal motor that compels you to learn about what fascinates you and the fact that you then share that knowledge with us. Keep on keeping on my man. Take care of yourself and that beautiful family. I look forward to laugh my ass off at one of your shows when your batteries are recharged and Nimrod deems at time. Until then, take care of yourself, your beautiful family and the Bad Magic team. Greatfully, Michelle Roy. Michelle, thank you so much. What a great message. You are sweet. You're sweet.

Also fucking Whipsmart Spirit comes through with that message. I don't know for sure what's going on with how we got here either, but I love the merging of the mystical and the scientifically known, or at least theorized. I'm well aware that for myself, I just want the world to have real magic in it. And that that desire, you know Influences my worldview and I'm okay with that Emotionally, I just feel better happier when I believe that there is more to all of this than random organisms

No more important than ants or rats living and dying with no real point to our existence And you know what that may be the case, but I don't want to believe that and you know, I get to do what I want So I don't I love that you. And, you know, I get to do what I want, so I don't. I love that you have merged your faith with cold reason and science. I think it's a beautiful thing. Yeah, no church is perfect, but I guess, you know, no person is perfect.

You know, neither way. You know I have issues with organized religion, but I also recognize the beauty of it as well. I look forward to seeing you down the road when I'm ready to return from a self-imposed stand-up exile Hill Nimrod and yeah, thanks for sharing that Now something from YouTube. I found myself peeping on some comments and the following one left under the William Suff suck from user Sarah re7 VG caught my eye

Sarah's comment primarily refers to build a serial killer's wife Carol not protecting their infant that bill would be to death Here goes. Couple things right off the bat. One, hell yeah, thank you for bringing up women's rights and feminism. I think you should do a time-suck episode on feminism. I'd suggest tackling it in its waves and within those waves, different main branches and criticisms. I think we're getting to a point where intersectional feminism, which is in my opinion the most comprehensive and integral to the feminist movement, is getting more and more widespread attention and coming into popular consciousness.

Carol obviously absolutely should have left. But I think it's worth interrogating why she didn't, or if that was really even a viable option. I don't want to turn this into a she's a complete victim versus she's a complete monster. What I mean when I say I'm not sure what she was able to is with consideration of finances and childcare being tied to this guy. Where was she and her or where were she and her children going to go? Were there any women's shelters available at that time? Was it safe for her and the children to leave entitled psychopaths like this guy

hunt down, terrorize and stalk their partners and children even if they do successfully leave. That is sadly so true. What level of cultural and religious pressure was there, insisting everything was her fault and that it was her duty to stay? Remember, it takes a certain number of times to leave an abusive relationship because of the psychological grip abusers have. I also think it's worth noting how our default responses

to true crime stories and the people involved is informed by the framework of the court system's decisions. Meaning we're forced into a binary guilty or not guilty in court. So the way we interpret and judge the case is also through that binary lens. That being said, yeah, I just hope this doesn't turn into why didn't do why didn't the mom do anything when it should be?

Why is this dad doing this in the first place? But I also don't want to take complete agency away from Carol in the situation. These conversations are incredibly hard to navigate. You know what? Here's my reply. I love that you brought up moving away from binary thinking in this comment. Sarah, yes, yes, yes It is so easy to get into our guilty versus, you know, not guilty, you know

And not factor in extenuating extenuating circumstances I can't fucking my mouth. I did a longer episode of scared to death today and it's funny like after three or four hours My mouth is just like nope. We're not gonna pronounce certain things anymore. Here's the reply I left on our YouTube. I Love this thought-oking comment, Sarah. Yes, it's complicated in situations where someone like Carol is not the abuser. She's the victim of abuse herself. How much responsibility does a parent bear in a situation where they are not

protecting their child, but also their child is being abused by the same person who is abusing them? It's so easy for me to judge since I I'm not in that situation, and also a 6'1", 235 pound man with the ability to financially provide for not only myself, but also my kids. It would be much easier for me to stand up to Bill than it would be for Carol to do so. But also, it is allowing your infant to be slowly beaten to death over a period of a few months, excusable in any circumstance outside of actual imprisonment. I'm thinking of an extreme situation, such as a mother being kept in a concentration

camp like environment. It's also tricky. I feel like Carol should not be totally absolved for her lack of intervention, but also, I feel terrible for her as well. It's so complex. What is not complex is judging Bill himself. He is the clear monster in all of this. Okay, I'm rambling now.

Thank you for commenting. Commenting. Okay, so that was my comment. I included this because I just love seeing intelligent, thoughtful, nuanced commentary, uh, and, you know, comments left under of all places, videos on YouTube. There is so much more than just idiots of the internet commentary going on over there. And I love that some of our videos are, you know, proven that. And now let's end on something silly from a silly anonymous sucker who wrote him with the subject line of God damn it, Dan.

And then you're ruining my relationship. Ha ha. J K gosh dang. Do he who suckers on high? Well, you finally got me, but not in the way that most time suckers get got. My girlfriend, Lindsay, who also refuses to submit and doesn't really listen to podcasts, let alone time suck, listen to the Duggers episode on our travels for holidays, a a couple weeks ago

You had her going with your broken dick gang, which I was privy to since I'd already listened Anyway fast forward to last week when due to some overzealousness I had a self-inflicted wound resulted in my very own broken dick no bending your blood just a bit of tender area soreness Obviously when I told my girlfriend she began to laugh at me asking if I'd fallen out of bed onto my boner Laughing as she walked away. I left it alone until the next day to which she responded with do you want me to rub it? when I told my girlfriend she began to laugh at me, asking if I'd fallen out of bed onto my boner. Laughing as she walked away. I left it alone until the next day to which she responded with, Do you want me to rub it?

Then motion to jerking off motion at a 90 degree right angle. Giggling the entire time. Finally, I had to catch her breath from laughing at me once again. I told her I was serious about my injury, at which point she begrudgingly believed me. So thanks to you, I now have a significant other who will never believe me when I have an actual dick-related injury. Quick tangent, during the Duggar episode, I found this so funny. During the Duggar episode, you totally had her convinced that Jim Bob watched his daughters have sex for the first time. She paused it right after your first mention of that, with wide eyes,

looking at me, she shouted, Are you serious? All my efforts to get her to continue with the episode were met with questions about, could you imagine imagine what if my dad was in the room? I can't believe he would do that, etc. After much convincing she hit play, listen to your increasingly ridiculous description until you broke the illusion. I just let a play out naturally to which the whole broken dick payback was probably justified. All that being said, thank you in the Bad Magic team for doing what you do. Keeps me entertained while I do chores, work on cars and drive.

3 out of 5 stars wouldn't change a thing your loyal anonymous space lizard anonymous lizard I hope I didn't say your name the first part did I say your name okay I did leave it anonymous every once in a while I read that the end I'm like ah shit okay good I got it this time I love it old Jim Bob standing there watching such a creepy visual. Also, I could see that happening Tell your Lindsay to Google betting ceremony in parts of medieval Europe part of the wedding night festivities for a royal couple Would actually be people watching them fuck They would have witnesses often family Standing around the bed making sure the new couple was in a real marriage and it wasn't just for show

They would watch them for your parents just watching you fuck for the first time. in a real marriage and it wasn't just for show. They would watch them. Your parents is watching you fuck for the first time. What a weird night for everybody. Good luck with your bent boner. And that is all for this week. Thanks, time suckers. I needed that. We all did.

Thanks for listening to another Bad Magic Productions podcast, scared to death, Time suck each week. Please don't kill any of your friends this week for not covering, you know, part of a strip club tab. Just stay calm, carry on and keep on sucking. Bad Magic Productions. I had a hard time not continuing to think about Tim Tebow the rest of that episode. Like what if Tim Tebow really like privately does say the most vile things imaginable? That wholesome human golden retriever is married now.

What if he likes a like a crazy amount of dirty talking bed? Like he wants his wife to slap his dick with a heavy wooden yardstick while he's tied to a chair, while she screams to him about how small his nuts are. And the more she belittles him, the fucking harder he gets. Right? And the harder he waxes, she waxes wing, the harder he gets. Yes, again, again, hit my nuts, my shriveled, sad little raisin' nuts! I'm a bad boy and need to be punished! I'm just gonna leave you with that mental image. See you next week.