(Elise Amendola/AP)

Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez has killed himself in prison, the Massachusetts Department of Correction said Wednesday.

"Mr. Hernandez hanged himself utilizing a bed sheet that he attached to his cell window," according to a Department of Correction statement, as reported by The Boston Globe. "Mr. Hernandez also attempted to block his door from the inside by jamming the door with various items."

Hernandez was discovered in his cell at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts, at about 3:05 a.m., according to The Globe. He was pronounced dead at 4:07 a.m. after being transported to UMass Leominster.

Last week, a jury found Hernandez not guilty of first-degree murder in the 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. He was already serving a life sentence, however, for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd.

Hernandez, a tight end, played for the Patriots from 2010 to 2012.

The Department of Correction's full statement is below:

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