DoctorOz: Aaron Hernandez's Brother on Netflix Documentary & CTE | Oz True Crime

Netflix documentary Killer Inside the Mind of Aaron Hernandez explored three main theories. Was Aaron Hernandez a sociopathic killer with a split personality? Or was his violence due to repeated head trauma causing chronic traumatic encephalopathy, better known as CTE? Or was Odin Lloyd killed because he knew something about Aaron possibly being gay or bisexual? And did Aaron Hernandez take his own life in order to protect his family's financial future? Join me now as Aaron Hernandez's older brother, Jonathan. Jonathan, thank you for being here. I want to point out that Jonathan and his family did not agree to participate in a Netflix series. The filmmakers used parts of my previous interview with Jonathan without his permission and without our permission as well. Before I get to this interview, the last time we spoke, it touched me in a very deep way. And I've spoken about some of the truths you shared with family and friends. It was profound, it was deep, it was real. I know it was very raw for you. So I thank you for that. I think you changed a lot of people through your honesty. And it's very hard to do that, especially when you're still in the mourning of your brother. There's a lot to talk about. But this documentary I know has reopened some wounds. Have you had a chance to see it? I did. I received some texts and I was actually initially asked to do it. But I just, I didn't have a good feeling about it. One of the first things that was presented to me was the dollar amount that was going to be presented and exchanged if I did the video. And to me, it's more than the dollar amount received. I think there's so much tragedy within this and things that can be gained for other people's benefit that the dollar amount was the least significant thing. It's more so what was at hand and what can we collectively do so someone who is growing up isn't in this situation in the near future or down the road. Was it painful for you to hear people speaking about your brother? It was. I'm sitting there and I'm watching it and then all of a sudden I pause it and I'm scratching my head and my wife said, are you okay? And I go, I go, wait, I make a phone call to my buddy and I'm like, do you know who's in my neighborhood? I go, do you know this neighbor? And he's like, I don't know. So I called my mother and she's like, I go, mom, do you know this person? And she's like, listen, I have no idea who it is. So I have new cousins now. I have new neighbors that I'm finding out about. And to me, I just think there are a lot of people that cross the line within the documentary speaking in areas they shouldn't because I would never go and do that to you or your family. So your brother had a remarkable ability to endure pain and to push through. Do you believe your brother realized that the injuries to his head in particular were taking a toll on him? I know he expressed how beat up his body was and the effects the game had on him. But in terms of identifying CTE, I know there's things in his life that he struggled with understanding, but no one can say right now that's one of the things they're trying to do is how can they find CTE in someone before they pass. So Aaron's autopsy revealed he had stage three CTE. I put some pictures up here. It's the worst case ever seen in a young brain. This degenerative brain disease is caused by blunt force trauma to the head. You can see that it's sort of an earlier stage in the left stage two. And on the right, this is stage three, which is what Aaron had all those brown areas that's broken down proteins from multiple head injuries. You see how the brain on the right is shrunken down to stage three. Again, evidence that the brain was being impacted and Aaron was always in and out of trouble and often switching from being jovial from what I understand to being extremely aggressive. How much of Aaron's personality do you believe was shaped in retrospect by the CTE and how much of it was shaped by your domineering father? I think within our household, it was extremely difficult to approach our mother and father with things that we were experiencing because of their narrow mindedness and just, you know, their set ways. And it's almost like you sometimes you back away from communicating because not only are you worried about how they're going to take something, but you're worried about the message that's going to come from their mouth and the tone and the way that it's directed at you, which can cause anyone to really keep things in and really question whether or not you feel safe presenting information that you're struggling to understand or overcome within yourself. If Aaron had gone to your father and said, I have conflicted thoughts on my sexuality, what would your father have said? I don't know if he would have been able to finish his sentence. Yeah, I don't at all. I really don't. I can't imagine him even being able to, or my dad would have thought he could beat that out of him. Would he beat your brother and you? Oh, I don't think beat is really even the word that can be expressed when you literally have to blow on your brother's wounds because of the creases of a belt or handprint in your body and the burning sensation it has. And, you know, have a rule that in your household, you can get beat, but you stay away from the face so other people can't notice. It really has an effect on the way you approach situations in terms of communicating with others, because your safety net is in question because you don't feel safe. And I think that's another thing within the documentary that, you know, you hear they have snippets of my brother's voice, and which I think is so powerful. And at least to me, it is something that is hard to deal with, but also beautiful in the same aspects as conflicting that is because there's limited experiences where you hear that. And not many people know this, but, and excuse me, to hear his voice throughout it was just on, it was like he was alive. And it was his voice that was powerful. And I say powerful, because my brother did learn through the situation and relationships that were portrayed in the Netflix documentary that were crushed or mended. And to see the journey of that, I think is powerful for any being, any parental and relationship with their child, because not everything is perfect. I'm understanding your dad, but I'm not really sure what's going on with your mom. Aaron had a complicated relationship with your mother, independent of that. They didn't really seem to understand each other. You made decisions that there's, you don't like, that are the worst. I don't put you down and you f*** my whole life up. Oh, you don't put me down, but I f*** your whole life up. I ain't living with that. You did. It is, but I forgave you and it's over with. Yes, you did. I was the happiest little kid in the world and you f*** me up. And I just lost my father and I had to go to college and I had nobody. What the f*** you think I was going to do? Become a perfect angel? My mother is a very stern Italian woman and she is like no woman I have ever met in my life. But she has grown. I know, you know, the documentary made clear that there was some issues within our relationship. My father passed away and then there was a relationship where my mother had a relationship with my cousin's husband at the time. Was Aaron mad at your mother through all this? Oh, we were furious, furious because we were extremely close-knit family and having that to now all of a sudden you're feeling alone. So at any point did you feel like your brother Aaron was capable of committing murder? No, no, not at all. Up next, when we come back, we're diving into the next theory in the Netflix docuseries. Did Aaron's alleged repressed sexuality play a role in his plot to kill his friend, Odin Lloyd? And did it play a role in his suicide? We're back with Aaron Hernandez's older brother, Jonathan, discussing the controversial claims made in the new Netflix documentary, Killer Inside. Do you think your mother knew of Aaron's sexuality? Just when he's, you know, again, he's like, you know, mom, you're gonna, you're gonna die never knowing your son. And my mom being my mom, you know, you know, started, you know, mouthing the name of Aaron and they started bickering back and forth and then all of a sudden, you know, they have this conversation and they're both flooded with tears across from each other and, and here the weight of what's on my brother is, you know, being expressed and for a mother to, you know, be looking at it across from the scratched, you know, glass and the zone, seeing your son who, you know, you would have never anticipated him ever being in this situation, sharing this news, you know, you, you, you start to ask, like, what can I have done differently? You start to blame yourself for all the things that are occurring. And, and then at that point, you know, how you try to be there, but how, how, how present can you really be with all the limitations and restrictions? Did your mom accept who Aaron was trying to tell her he was? Did he feel? Oh, that's, that's the thing. Like it was, it was never about accepting or anything. And that's like, when I had a conversation with my mom and we talked about it, it was never about, oh, whether I'll accept him. It's that's her son. She loves him to death. And yeah, she will flip out and tell him like it is when he did or did not want to hear it. And that's how my mom has always been. So in this book, the truth about Aaron, you reveal that your brother, Aaron was abused by an older person in the neighborhood. And it happened during a game of hide and seek. I remember when you described this, I was sort of taken back because you're the older brother. It seemed like you felt some guilt as any older brother would, because you didn't pick up on clues that only now are evident to us. If Aaron struggled with his sexuality, what was needed to happen in order to get comfortable with who he was? I think that being so confused, not understanding what is acceptable, what is okay based on, you know, the earlier years within our household. And, you know, people talk about the NFL, the culture within the NFL, sexuality and all this other things being placed on the NFL. Well, to me, it has nothing to do with the NFL. It has to do with people and how that is taken by an authority figure can really have a damaging effect on someone who's quipping all these questions within their lives. Aaron's high school quarterback, Dennis Ansucci, made claims that he and Aaron were in an on and off sexual relationship between 7th and 11th grade. This is a clip from the Netflix docuseries Killer Inside the Mind of Aaron Hernandez. Aaron and I had an on and off relationship from the 7th grade to the junior year of high school. Aaron participated with many people. I was a small piece of Aaron's sexual activity. Looking back, Jonathan, did you ever suspect this was going on? No, I did not. I know he obviously expressed this to me when we spoke and then felt the need to express how my brother was involved with a lot of sexual activity with men. The reason that comes up is I'm still trying to understand why he at least was convicted of murdering his friend, Odin Lloyd. Was it possibly because he didn't want Odin Lloyd to disclose secrets about Aaron's sexuality? That's one of the questions and, you know, head scratchers that they still have regarding really this entire case. You look at MOAs, you look at everything, you know, there's just so many questions regarding everything. And for me to sit here and say it was this or that, I can't say. And all you can do is look at the evidence that was provided. Do you believe your brother killed his friend? I don't. I don't. I really don't. And I know, you know, there's a lot of mixed reviews on that, but I don't. You think he was innocent? I do. Do you think that he was responsible for the murder of those two men in a double homicide in 2017? I don't. He was extremely frustrated that they were pinning on him. But, you know, that was, both cases were very difficult to watch for multiple reasons. And I just feel bad for all the families involved. Why do you think your brother was targeted for Odin Lloyd's murder? Well, there's three guys there. There's three guys that were in question. So ultimately trying to figure out who pulled the trigger. I don't know how my brother was identified as the trigger man based on footprints, a towel, a gun never being found, and a text message saying he was with an NFL player. I know he was with him, but that's all I know. All right, so up next, will we ever know why Aaron Hernandez took his own life and was it to protect his family's financial future? That's next.