State investigators had more evidence than previously disclosed that former New England Patriot star Aaron Hernandez was using a dangerous drug in prison prior to his death — information that was concealed in public records and from his family and lawyers.
An inmate interview with officials the day Hernandez died, April 19, 2017, was partially redacted from a 132-page public report. The hidden portion, which the Globe was able to review last week for the first time, said: “He’s spent the last two days smoking K2 in his cell and he wasn’t in the right frame of mind.”
This new disclosure is significant because it could shed more light on why the 27-year-old convicted murderer took his own life. It also raises questions about whether state officials sought to hide the extensive use of contraband drugs by inmates — including by one of their most well-known prisoners — and its potential influence on his death.