Aaron Hernandez suicide note meant for prison inmate Kyle Kennedy, attorney alleges
Aaron Hernandez suicide note meant for prison inmate Kyle Kennedy, attorney alleges
An attorney for inmate Kyle Kennedy is claiming that a suicide note left by Aaron Hernandez was meant for his client.
"A letter was left to my client, but neither I, nor my client, have seen the letter," attorney Larry Army Jr. said in a statement to Fox 25 in Boston. "We will be requesting that the letter be turned over to my client as soon as possible."
On Monday, a court ruled that Hernandez's family should receive the notes left by the former Patriots tight end before he committed suicide at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., where he and Kennedy were confined. A lawyer representing the family wrote, in part, "the family has the right, during this grieving process, to know their loved one’s final thoughts."
Last week, the Worcester County (Mass.) District Attorney ruled Hernandez's death a suicide and confirmed that investigators found three handwritten notes next to a Bible in his cell. Two of the notes are believed to be written to his fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, and his daughter, Avielle.
But the third note has been the source of speculation, with reports from outlets such as Newsweek claiming it was left for his "prison boyfriend." That speculation was shot down by Hernandez's lawyer, Jose Baez, who said in a statement, "Rumors of letters to a gay lover in or out of prison are false. These are malicious leaks used to tarnish someone who is dead."
It's unclear what Kennedy's relationship to Hernandez is, but we do know that they were not cellmates.
I've been able to confirm this man is Kyle Kennedy, the inmate Aaron Hernandez allegedly left a letter for. Live at 8 #Boston25 pic.twitter.com/qeCYN9LWqz
— Catherine Parrotta (@C_Parrotta) April 25, 2017
According to the Boston Globe, during a sidebar session Monday between the judge and several lawyers, public safety secretary Daniel Bennett was recorded saying the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center was in a dangerous state.
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“It’s in lockdown and one of the reasons is because of issues with Mr. Hernandez. And things that have happened with Mr. Hernandez,” Bennett said. The specific subject of the investigation was not discussed at the hearing.
“There was a lot of other issues that could have gone on at Souza,” Bennett said, calling it the state’s “most dangerous prison.” It was not clear how the contents of the letters might have impeded an investigation.
“I have never seen the letters,” Bennett said during the sidebar discussion. “I have a police report with references to three letters and a reference to how he’s going to be — essentially don’t cry for him, he’s going to be happy in the afterlife.”
Kennedy's family also released a statement, via Fox 25: "Our thoughts right now are with Aaron Hernandez’s family, as well as our son. We understand the broad public interest in this case, but we ask for privacy as we learn the facts."