Kyle Kennedy, the man news reports have pegged as Aaron Hernandez’s prison lover, believes one of three suicide notes the ex-NFL star left behind was for him — facts Hernandez’s family’s lawyer denies.
Kennedy’s lawyer, Larry Army Jr., also said the 22-year-old convicted robber and drug dealer believes Hernandez intended to leave him a watch worth almost $50,000.
“My client believes one of the letters was written to him,” Army said during a news conference on Wednesday. “This is coming from his own knowledge of the relationship that he and Hernandez shared, and from someone on the inside who indicated to him that the letter was for him.” Army declined to name the person “on the inside.”
New post: The man who Aaron Hernandez left a letter is Kyle Kennedy https://t.co/7rLZ8fKXkK #NFL #NFLDraftNews pic.twitter.com/Twnm82rmmV
— NFL Draft Diamonds (@DraftDiamonds) April 26, 2017
Jose Baez, who represented Hernandez in a recent double-murder trial for which he was acquitted, has repeatedly called rumors of Hernandez being gay false. He also has denied any of the three suicide letters written by Hernandez before he committed suicide on April 19 were addressed to a prison lover.
“After the family received the writings from the Worcester District Attorney’s Office, I issued a statement yesterday as follows: ‘Rumors of letters to a gay lover, in or out of prison, are false. These are malicious leaks used to tarnish someone who is dead,’” Baez said in a statement Tuesday. “Notwithstanding my unambiguous statement that there were no such letters, representatives, on behalf of an individual named Kyle Kennedy, continued to advise the media such a gay love letter exists.”
Suicide notes were addressed to Hernandez’s fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez; their 4-year-old daughter; and to his legal team, Baez has claimed. The Worcester County DA’s Office told NBC News that it was unclear who the third letter was meant for. Hernandez, a convicted murderer who was serving life in prison without the possibility of parole, killed himself in Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Massachusetts.
Army said he has requested copies of the letter that could be addressed to Kennedy.
Though Army acknowledged the two had a “close” relationship, that Hernandez corresponded with Kennedy’s family and the pair even requested to be cellmates — a request that was denied — he declined to comment on reports that the two had a homosexual relationship.
Lawyer: #AaronHernandez sent this letter to inmate Kyle Kennedy’s step-sister detailing the depth of their relationship #wcvb pic.twitter.com/eTr1loWgZL
— Shaun Chaiyabhat (@ShaunWCVB) April 26, 2017
“He personally will discuss the nature and extent of his relationship with Aaron Hernandez,” Army said, speaking of Kennedy. “Any discussion of their relationship will come directly from his mouth so there is no confusion.”
It’s unclear when that would happen. Kennedy is slated to be released from prison in February 2018.
Army said in a letter to Kennedy about a month before his suicide, the former Patriots tight end said he thought he was “going to hang it up. Lol.” Kennedy didn’t think much of it at the time, Army said.
Despite numerous media reports suggesting a romantic relationship between Kennedy and Hernandez, Army said his client hadn’t given any interviews or spoken with any reporters.
Kennedy believes he is the last person to have seen Hernandez alive, Army said, and he has been on suicide watch since just before Hernandez’s death.
