text: Aaron Hernandez looked full of promise in his 2007 high school yearbook picture . Aaron Hernandez was  a rapidly rising star in the NFL. He was a key part of the New England Patriots offense, played in the Super Bowl and had signed a massive five-year contract extension that would pay him nearly $40million. He had a baby girl, a beautiful fiancee and an expansive $1.5million mansion in the Boston suburbs. But even before the murder of Odin Lloyd in June 2013 - a crime for which he will now spend the rest of his life in prison - Hernandez was not the golden boy he seemed to be. His arrest for Lloyd's murder was not the beginning of his criminal career - but rather just the first time he's been held accountable for his actions. Hernandez has been accused of shooting a total of six men - killing three and severely wounding three other. Two of them, Lloyd and a man who says Hernandez shot him through the eye, were supposedly the star's friends. After his father died, he had no one in his life to keep in on the straight and narrow. That, combined with his desire to be involved in the 'thug life' on the streets in his hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, and escalating drug and alcohol use set the stage for the murders, family and friends have said. Scroll down for video . Hernandez was captain of his high school football team and rated as the best football player in the state of Connecticut in his senior year . Hernandez, seen here in a candid shot from his senior yearbook at Bristol Central High School, grew into a troubled, and very powerful, young man . Add into it, a history of escaping trouble thanks to coaches and cops allegedly covering for him. He had had at least three major run-ins with the law prior to his murder arrest - and managed to escape without charges every time. The 25-year-old made it out of a tough neighborhood in Bristol, Connecticut, but never seemed to leave the streets behind. A 2013 Rolling Stone article claimed that he maintained gang affiliation - and even allegedly got a Bloods gang tattoo - even after making millions in the NFL. As his career wore on, he became more distant from his family and closer with his alleged gang friends, Rolling Stone claimed. Additionally, he became increasingly paranoid and carried a gun everywhere he went. Rolling Stone claims he also began smoking the hallucinogen PCP, or angel dust. A family friend told the magazine that Lloyd's murder was a result of Hernandez's drug abuse. 'Don’t matter what it’s about: Aaron’s out of his mind. He’s been twisted on dust now for more than a year, which is when all of this crazy s*** started.' The magazine accuses Hernandez of being involved in a 'thug life' that was apparent even to New England head coach Bill Belichick. When he was arrested he was only 'one step' from being cut from the team over the issues, it was claimed. A friend told Rolling Stone that Hernandez chose to surround himself with a 'crew' of so-called gangsters, rather than hanging out with his team mates or other athletes. 'One of his uncles went to Boston to talk to him, and these scary-looking dudes are hanging out in his game room. They wouldn’t say hi or shake his hand, and when he brought it up to Aaron, he laughed him off,' a friend told the magazine. Star: Aaron Hernandez played in the Super Bowl as a key piece of the New England Patriots offense in 2012 . Hernandez was a star high school player from a bad neighborhood in Bristol, Connecticut. He revered his father Dennis Hernandez, who was himself a local sports legend - and also a  petty criminal as a teen. According to former coaches from Bristol, Dennis kept his son on the straight-and-narrow. When his father died in January 2006 from complications from a routine surgery, Aaron  became withdrawn. 'It was very, very hard, and he was very, very angry,' his mother Terri told USA Today. 'He wasn’t the same kid, the way he spoke to me. The shock of losing his dad, there was so much anger.' When Aaron's father died, his mother Terri moved her new husband into the family house. According to police reports, the new husband was violent and physically abused Terri. Jeffrey Cummings was also a convicted drug dealer. In July 2010, he allegedly stabbed Terri Hernandez during a fight. Following the death of his father, as a 17-year-old senior, Hernandez was named as the best football player in Connecticut. Also in Bristol, he met his longtime partner and future mother of his young daughter, Shayanna Jenkins. She has continued to stand by the troubled star - even enduring arrest for perjury for refusing to disclose exactly about what happened following Lloyd's murder. In 2006, an offer to play football for the University of Florida Gators  on scholarship seemed like a fresh start. Coach Urban Meyer helped counsel him during his time there and even assigned Tim Tebow to look after him. Hernandez scored one the Patriots' two touchdowns during Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 . April 28, 2007 - Police called after Hernandez, a University of Florida football player, punches a waiter at a bar . September 2007 - Hernandez questioned after two men shot in drive-by shooting in Florida after fight with Hernandez at club . August 30, 2008 - Hernandez suspended for one game after testing positive for smoking marijuana . June 8, 2010 - Hernandez inks deal with New Endland Patriots after being drafted in the fourth round . February 5, 2012 - Played in Super Bowl XLVI . July 16, 2012 - Two immigrants from Cape Verde are shot dead in the car in South Boston. Hernandez suspected . Hernandez is accused of murdering Daniel de Abreu (left) and Safiro Furtado (right) in 2012 - and then playing an entire season of football . August 27, 2012 - Patriots sign Hernandez to five-year, $37.5million contract extension . November 2012 - Hernandez's fiance Shayanna Jenkins gives birth to their daughter, Avielle Janelle . February 13, 2013 - Hernandez allegedly shoots friend in the eye outside Miami strip club after argument . June 17, 2013 - Odin Lloyd gunned down in an industrial lot near Hernandez's home . June 26, 2013 - Hernandez arrested and charged with Lloyd's murder . June 26, 2013 - Patriots kick Hernandez off team within 90 minutes of arrest announcement . May 5, 2014 - Hernandez charged with beating fellow inmate and threatening a jail guard . May 15, 2014 - Hernandez indicted for double-murder in South Boston . January 29, 2015 - Odin Lloyd murder trial begins . April 15, 2015 - Sentenced to life in prison without parole after conviction on murder and weapons charges in Lloyd's death . In 2009, he helped lead the team to a national championship. But problems began to emerge as well. In April 2007 as a 17-year-old freshman, Hernandez ordered two drinks at a Gainesville, Florida, bar then refused to pay. When a waiter escorted him outside, the football star waited until his head was turned then allegedly punched him in the head, bursting his eardrum. Police were called and recommended that Hernandez be charged with felony assault. Meyer, Florida's legendary football coach, intervened and no arrest was ever made, according to Rolling Stone. That same year he was also questioned in connection with a drive-by shooting in which two men were shot, one in the head, following a fight over a gold necklace with Florida Gators football players at a nightclub. He was never charged and no one was ever arrested. Shayanna Jenkins, seen here in her 2007 yearbook picture, met Hernandez in high school . In 2008, he was suspended from the first game of the year for testing positive for marijuana. Rolling Stone claims that his drug violations may have been even more pronounced and that he failed more drug tests than the one that was released publicly. Following those incidents, he seemed to turn a corner. He was drafted in 2010 in the fourth-round by the Patriots. Many scouts said his talent merited a first-round pick, but teams were so concerned about his off-the-field behavior and connections to street gangs that they refused to draft him. His return to New England after being drafted by the Patriots allowed him to reconnect with the bad influences from his childhood, friends have said. On the Patriots, he made massive impact on the field. He quickly became one of quarterback Tom Brady's favorite targets. In three seasons, he scored 18 touchdowns and had nearly 2,000 yards receiving. In February 2012, he appeared in Super Bowl XLVI and caught a 12-yard pass from Brady for a touchdown. In 2012, the Patriots signed their star to a 5-year, $37.5million contact that included more than $12.5million in signing bonuses. In June 2012, he went to Los Angeles with his fiancee Shayanna Jenkins. While there, police were called to his apartment on a domestic violence call after neighbors dialed 911. When cops arrived, Hernandez was dismissive and Sayanna made it clear that she didn't want to press charges, so they left. On July 16, 2012 Daniel Jorge Correia de Abreu, 29, and Safiro Teixeira Furtado, 28, who immigrants from Cape Verde, were found murdered in their car in South Boston following a drive-by shooting. They had reportedly gotten into a fight with Hernandez and his crew at a night club prior to their murders. In May 2014, prosecutors indicted Hernandez for both killings. He still faces trial on those murders. On the same month that Lloyd was murdered, a former friend filed a lawsuit against Hernandez claiming the NFL star had shot him in the mouth in February 2013 following a fight at a Miami strip club. The man, Alexander Bradley, lost his eye in the shooting and subsequently testified against Hernandez at his murder trial. In February 2014 - following his arrest for murder - he was allegedly involved in a jailhouse fight and for threatening a jail guard. He was later indicted on those charges and faces trial for them, as well.
target: Aaron Hernandez, 25, has been accused of shooting six people - killing three, including Odin Lloyd .
  He was convicted of first degree murder in Lloyd's death on Wednesday and sentenced to life in prison without parole .
  Has a long history of troubling behavior, but was never held accountable because cops and coaches looked the other way, according to reports .