Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez told Dr. Phil that she suspects Aaron Hernandez did not write the notes prosecutors say were found in the prison cell where he was found dead last month. The mother of the NFL star’s young daughter said in an interview aired Monday that she doubts he killed himself and that someone forged the “suicide notes” and murdered him.
Hernandez was found dead, hanging by a bed sheet, in his locked cell on April 19, just days after he was found not guilty in the murders of two men. He was still serving a life sentence for a previous murder conviction. His cell door was reportedly jammed and the “John 3:16” was scrawled on his forehead. The bob verse was also written on his cell wall.
While she said it was “a note of love,” she thought it was unusual that he addressed her as “Shay,” and not a more affectionate greeting such as “babe” or “bae,” she told Dr. Phil.
“That was a little odd to me, but as far as the content, he seemed to be his loving self.”
Jenkins-Hernandez acknowledged that the handwriting appeared similar to his, but she suggested an inmate would have had plenty of time to forge it.
Crime Online offers this comparison of a known Hernandez handwriting sample with the note released by prosecutors last week. Nancy Grace observed in this episode of “Crime Stories” that there are remarkable similarities with the slant of the writing and certain letters, including a, w, y, and s.
Still, Jenkins-Hernandez can’t accept that he killed himself.
“It’s just not the Aaron that I know,” she said. “I think that if he would have done something like this, it would have been at his worst, and I felt like we were, like it was looking so bright.”
Psychologist Caryn Stark said suicide for is “very painful and shocking” for survivors because they tend to blame themselves.
“She would think ‘How could I not have known? What could I have done to stop that from happening? It seems so improbable that I can understand why someone would think that he was murdered or it cannot be him.”
[Feature Photo: AP/Nancy Lane/The Boston Herald, Pool]