BOSTON -- Aaron Hernandez's family wants to donate his brain to science, but Massachusetts officials are refusing to release it despite turning over the rest of his body to a funeral home, the former NFL star's lawyer said Thursday.
Hernandez, who was serving a life sentence for murder, apparently killed himself in his prison cell on Wednesday.
Hernandez attorney Jose Baez said the family had arranged for Boston University researchers looking at brain trauma in athletes to take possession of Hernandez's brain following the autopsy. The medical examiner released Hernandez's body Thursday, but Baez says the office has not given them back the brain, as initially promised.