On January 15, 2020, Netflix released the short documentary series Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. The series showcased light to the tragic series of events involving former Patriots tight end, Aaron Hernandez. On June 17th, 2013, Odin Lloyd was tragically shot in North Attleborough MA. Police later found evidence that brought Hernandez into the murder. On June 26th, Hernandez was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd.

When I first saw this pop up on my Netflix feed, my heart dropped. Though I was young when the Hernandez trial was popular, I still felt somewhat affected by it because almost everything took place in Massachusetts. I clicked on the show and began watching what would soon become my favorite documentary.

The series was broken up into three episodes; all three were about an hour long. The first episode dove into Hernandez’s past, where he grew up, and his high school athletics. I was surprised to see what kind of kid he was growing up. He and his family lived in Bristol, Connecticut, and the Hernandez family name was known throughout the town for being very athletic. He was very involved with his school’s athletics and seemed to have a bright future ahead, especially in football.

The rest of the episode continued with various different interviews with people who knew Hernandez growing up. They all spoke positively of him and his family for the most part, but one man stood out to me. Dennis SanSoucie shared that he and Hernandez were very close growing up. He then admits that they were in a relationship for most of high school. I was moved by how normal Hernandez’s childhood seemed from the outside. Questions flowed through my head. Why did he end up in the place that he did? How did he get mixed up with such a bad crowd?

I finished the first episode and without a second thought, I watched the next two episodes within the same night. The focus of the two episodes was on the actual court case and Hernandez’s college and NFL career with the Patriots. Netflix showed the long downward spiral Hernandez fell into, from getting into bar fights in college to signing a $4o million contract with the Patriots right after being a suspect in a Florida shooting.

The final episode depicted Hernandez’s fate and the aftermath of his court case. He was once a man who was admired by thousands but during those final weeks, he was seen as a disgraced person. Some of his fans stayed by his side, however, including his fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins. Throughout the entire ordeal, Jenkins remained loyal to Hernandez and stood by his side.

Overall, I enjoyed watching Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez. The series highlighted his life, going into detail about his childhood, his football career, and the fatal shooting of Odin Lloyd. I highly recommend watching this limited series on Netflix and I would rate the documentary a 9/10.