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Netflix's New Docuseries ‘Killer Inside’ Examines The Fall of Aaron Hernandez

The former NFL star-turned-convicted murderer is described as a "ticking time bomb," in the trailer for Netflx's new mini series.

By Connor Mannion
Aaron Hernandez Netflix

"No one has allegedly murdered two people and then played an entire season as a professional athlete," the trailer for a new limited series examining the dark saga of Aaron Hernandez begins. 

More than two years after Hernandez, 27, died by suicide in prison following his 2015 conviction for the murder of his friend Odin Lloyd, his case continues to fascinate. How could an up-and-coming NFL star apparently lead such a dark double life while playing for one of the National Football League's top teams, the New England Patriots, for three seasons?

Netflix's latest true-crime offering, "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez," will explore those questions.

Hernandez's story is further complicated by the revelation that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, a degenerative brain disease caused by repetitive head injuries – Hernandez apparently suffered many during his football career. Researchers had said Hernandez's CTE – which can only be diagnosed after a person's death, because it requires brain tissue analysis – was one of the most severe cases they had seen in a person his age.

Ann McKee, the head of Boston University’s CTE Center, explained at the time, “Individuals with CTE — and CTE of this severity — have difficulty with impulse control, decision-making, inhibition of impulses for aggression, emotional volatility, rage behaviors.”

The Netflix docu-series is not the first attempt to dive deep into Hernandez's life. The Boston Globe's well-regarded Spotlight team published a series entitled "Gladiator" aimed at examining Hernandez and his legacy.

The Netflix special will probe Hernandez's life and death through exclusive interviews, footage and even audio of Hernandez's calls from prison. Hernandez is heard speaking in the trailer.

"A three-part documentary series featuring exclusive courtroom footage, Hernandez’s phone calls from prison, and interviews with those who knew Hernandez and Lloyd, 'Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez' meticulously examines the perfect storm of factors leading to the trial, conviction, and death of an athlete who seemingly had it all," a description from Netflix reads.

The series is set to premiere on Netflix on Jan. 15.