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Hernandez lawyer, agent dispute suicide claims, want full investigation

News of Aaron Hernandez’s prison suicide sent shockwave across the country, and now his high-profile lawyer and agent are disputing claims that the former Patriots player killed himself.

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Athletes First president Brian Murphy took to twitter early Wednesday morning and cast doubt on the news.
"Absolutely no chance he took his own life," he said.

He went on to say he thinks Hernandez would never kill himself.

"Chico was not a saint, but my family and I loved him and he would never take his own life," he said.

Meanwhile, Hernandez’s high-profile attorney, Jose Baez, released a statement and said he wants a full investigation into the matter because there were apparently no signs that the former New England Patriots player was suicidal.

“Aaron was looking forward to an opportunity for a second chance to prove his innocence,” Baez said in his statement. “Those who love and care about him are heartbroken and determined to find the truth surrounding his untimely death.”

Full Statement From Attorney Jose Baez:

The family and legal team is shocked and surprised at the news of Aaron’s death. There were no conversations or correspondence from Aaron to his family or legal team that would have indicated anything like this was possible.  Aaron was looking forward to an opportunity for a second chance to prove his innocence.  Those who love and care about him are heartbroken and determined to find the truth surrounding his untimely death. We request that authorities conduct a transparent and thorough investigation.

The Baez Law Firm will participate in its own examination into this tragic event and update the media and public on its findings when they become available.

A legal analyst on FOX25 News Wednesday morning said that Hernandez’s suicide is now likely going to affect his previous murder conviction.

“I know that’s going to be hard for a lot of people to swallow but if you die during an appeal in Massachusetts, the appeal of a criminal case, the conviction is vacated,” Legal analyst Peter Elikann said on FOX25 News.

Hernandez was in the process of appealing his murder conviction, which came with a life sentence with no possibility of parole. Baez was the lead attorney on the double murder case that Hernandez was acquitted on last Friday.

#BREAKING: The jury has found #AaronHernandez NOT GUILTY of murdering Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. READ MORE: fox25.com/HernandezVerdict LIVE COVERAGE: fox25.com/live

Posted by Boston 25 News on Friday, April 14, 2017

Hernandez grew up in Bristol, Connecticut and became a huge football start at Bristol Central High School.  People in town were completely blindsided by his death, many of whom remember Hernandez from his star high school days.

"It's kind of shocking in the news this morning, sad," said longtime fan and friend Rob Dinardo.

Dinardo said the Hernandez they knew was completely different than the one convicted of one murder and just acquitted for a double murder last week.

"He was a nice guy. All this other stuff I don't know where that came from," said Dinardo.

“Clearly it’s a very, very narrow legal technicality,” Elikann said. “It’s not like you’ve been vindicated or people now realize you weren’t guilty or anything.”

He said everyone has the right to appeal and now Hernandez doesn’t have a way to exercise that right.