Former American footballer Aaron Hernandez has been found dead in his cell at the prison where he was serving a life sentence for murder.
The former star tight end with the New England Patriots, was being held at the Souza Baranowski Correctional Center having been convicted of the 2013 shooting of Odin Lloyd.
He was serving a life sentence without parole following his conviction in 2015.
Last Friday, a court in Massachusetts acquitted Hernandez of killing two other men - Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado - in a drive-by shooting in Boston in July 2012.
The Massachusetts Department of Correction confirmed officers had found Hernandez in his cell at around 3.05am (8.05am Irish time) and he was pronounced dead at UMASS Leominster just over an hour later.
According to the statement, lifesaving techniques were administered to Hernandez after he was discovered.
He was being held in a single cell in general population housing.
