Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez has just dropped on Netflix and it has left watchers shocked by the "crazy," "dark" and "tragic" case of the now infamous NFL player.
Aaron Hernandez seemed to have it all. The Connecticut-born athlete had just signed a fresh deal with the New England Patriots for $40million to play in the NFL and life ahead looked promising - that was until he was arrested for the murder of semi-professional footballer, Odin Lloyd in 2013.
Odin had been in a relationship with the sister of Hernandez's fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins - but the motive for the killing was unclear.
He was then convicted of first-degree murder of Odin in 2015 and was later accused again of a double murder in a drive-by shooting, however he was acquitted of this second crime by a jury.
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Now, this three-part documentary focusing on his crime has arrived and is available to binge now, just prepare yourself for a tragic and chilling case that left Twitter users reeling.
One said: "I just finished binge watching the documentary, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez on Netflix and wow that was fascinating! I simply couldn't look away. Every minute was so chilling and dark yet extremely insightful. Mainly the psychological perspective of human behavior."
Another said: "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez" is !@#$ing CRAZY! The story is straight out of a movie or something. Insane..."
A third said: "Watching " killer inside: the mind of Aaron Hernandez " and I'm know 8 minutes in and DAAAAAMN it's crazy".
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez has so many parts to its story, which became even more complex and shrouded in mystery after his suicide in prison in 2017, so we're unsurprised at the reaction.
The true crime docu-series while is about the tragic death of Odin, also delves into killer Hernandez's abusive upbringing, a growing fascination with gangs, his complicated relationship with his mother and the undetected but fast-developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) condition in his brain.
The programme takes a deep dive into the famous case and this NFL player's fall from grace.
It looks at courtroom footage, Hernandez's phone calls from prison and his post-humous diagnosis of CTE (often caused by contact sports and leading to irrationality, impulsive behaviour, depression and dementia), as well as interviews with those that knew him.
And whilst most seem to be taking Hernandez on face value - that he is a cold-blooded murderer - others were left conflicted, because they felt his rocky childhood and CTE played its part.
One tweet read: "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez put me on a roller coaster of emotions. His personal story leaves you sad, but he RUINED lives so you don't wanna empathize too much. And then the frustration/guilt(?!) I feel for loving/cheering for him when he was on the Pats? Frick..."
Another added: "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez was just so sad from all angles.. especially for all the families and loved ones involved. Your environment and upbringing truly are the foundation of who you are."
A third commented: "Woo! I just finished @netflix's "Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez." Such a crazy/tragic story. We have to start taking signs of broken young boys & girls more serious. That childhood trauma is so dangerous."
Judging by the hashtags, people had an awful lot to say about the documentary in general.
A cursory scroll through Twitter shows that many people had big opinions on the mention of Hernandez's sexuality too.
While he was already 'outed' on the radio in 2017, two days before he went on to kill himself in his prison cell, his sexual tendencies were brought up once again in the documentary.
We see Dennis SanSoucie, a friend who claimed he'd had a sexual relationship with the footballer explain the extent of their relations and the impact he felt being 'in the closet' had on Hernandez.
Many took to Twitter after Dennis' appearance to question why Netflix focused so heavily on this and what relevance it has to him being a murderer.
One said: "Some people experiment young, some people are in the closet, some people are bi sexual. Who gives af! This documentary was titled "Killer Inside". It was unnecessary to speak about his sexuality."
Another said: "Being Bi or "struggling with sexuality" shouldn't have even been mentioned on Killer Inside as a reason why Aaron Hernandez did what he did."
But producers clearly felt it had a significant relevance, since the programme delved into his childhood that showed a father who was all about masculinity and had anti-gay prejudices and Hernandez's supposed struggle to deal with his inner turmoil.
But while opinions remain a little mixed, Twitter users are right on one thing, this docu-series sounds seriously chilling yet fascinating - looking at what drives people to commit such heinous crimes - especially since a motive has never been proven.
Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez is available to stream on Netflix right now.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV and Film, True Crime, Documentaries, TV Entertainment, Netflix
