ENTERTAINMENT

Fiancee: Aaron Hernandez thought he was going to be freed

The Associated Press Published Friday, May 12, 2017 12:34PM EDT

Shayanna Jenkins Hernandez, fiancee of former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, sits in the courtroom with the couple's daughter during jury deliberations in Hernandez's double-murder trial at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. (Keith Bedford/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool, File)

Text:

BOSTON -- Former NFL player Aaron Hernandez sounded as if he thought he would soon be freed in his last conversation with his fiancee before he killed himself.

Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez says in an interview on "Dr. Phil" scheduled to air next week that he said "Daddy's going to be home ... I can't wait to hold you and love you" in a telephone conversation hours before he was found hanged in his prison cell on April 19.

He had been acquitted in a double murder trial days before, but was still serving a life sentence in another murder case.

The show's host, Dr. Phillip McGraw told NBC's "Today" show on Friday that Jenkins-Hernandez does not believe the former New England Patriots player killed himself, despite the evidence.

McGraw also said Jenkins-Hernandez is not expecting any financial benefit from the death.