Aaron Josef Hernandez was an American football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons with the New England Patriots until the time when he was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd and trial for dual murder, till he hung himself in the cell in the year 2012. Aaron had multiple tattoos on his body covering the whole of his arms, chest, and also his back. A few of his tattoos were also used as proof of showing him guilty in the murder of Lloyd as he got them after committing his murder. Let us explore his tattoos and see what meanings did they have for him.
1. Four Ace Cards and Rolling dice Tattoo
Tattoo: On Aaron’s right pec, there was a tattoo of four Ace cards inked. On the bottom was a pair of rolling dice inked with the number five and six.
Meaning: Ace Cards and rolling dice combination is the most popular gambling tattoo which symbolises power and good luck.
2. Angels vs Demons Tattoo
Tattoo: Angels vs Demons illustration was tattooed on the top of Aaron’s back.
Meaning: Angels versus Demons is the most common tattoo when it comes to the representation of evil against good i.e. the dual nature of the world. Whereby, angels represent the positivity and all the goodness in the world whereas, demons represent the bad, evil, and darker side of the world.
3. ‘Baby Angel’ Tattoo
Tattoo: An angel with crossed arms was tattooed on Aaron’s body
4. Claw Tattoo
Tattoo: A big claw opened in a sort of clasping action was tattooed on the inner side of Aaron’s right bicep.
5. ‘BIG BROTHER’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘BIG BROTHER’ inked on Aaron’s right forearm.
6. ‘Cross’ Tattoo
Tattoo: A huge cross was tattooed on Aaron’s left shoulder. The words, ‘Ma’ and ‘Dad‘ were inked on the right and the left side of the cross. There was a stitched football inked on the centre of the cross followed by a banner which contained his surname as, ‘HERNANDEZ‘.
Meaning: Cross is the Holy symbol of Christians which depicts that Aaron was a highly religious person and the reference of his parents shows that he did love them even though he was charged with heinous crimes.
7. Bicep Writing Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘It’s all about the fight in you” inked around his right forearm.
8. ‘BLOOD SWEAT TEARS’ Tattoo
Tattoo: On his right hand, Aaron had the words, ‘BLOOD SWEAT TEARS’ inked.
9. ‘BornToPlayThisGame’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘BornToPlayThisGame’ inked across his neckline.
10. ‘Revolver Cylinder’ Tattoo
Tattoo: On the inner side of his right wrist, Aaron had the six-shot revolver cylinder inked. It was only after committing the murder, he got this tattoo inked in 2013. It was rightly proved that these tattoos were related to the crime that he had committed. Aaron had used five bullets on the crime scene and his tattoo to depicted the same. This was another tattoo that was inked after Aaron had committed the murder. The tattoo was done by a California-based tattoo artist named David Nelson.
12. Chest Tattoo
Tattoo: Letter T in italicised font inked on Aaron’s left pec along with the word, ‘JANO’ inked horizontally inside it. The tattoo might have been a showcase of love for his mother, Terri Hernandez.
13. Chinese Writing Tattoo
14. ‘Clouds and Rain Drops’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Clouds along with rainfall was tattooed on the Ripper arm of Hernandez.
Meaning: Clouds and rainfall symbolise bad luck and bad times.
15. Design on Arm
16. Dollar Sign Tattoo
Tattoo: Multiple dollar symbol tattoos of various sizes were inked on Aaron’s left forearm.
17. ‘Est. 1989’ Tattoo
Tattoo: EST 1989 was inked across Aaron’s knuckles of right and left hand, respectively.
Meaning: The tattoo symbolized his birth year as he was born in 1989.
18. ‘Eye’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘All-seeing Eye‘ was inked on the outer side of Aaron’s left arm.
Meaning: All-seeing Eye is the symbol that God is above us all and is watching all of our actions and thus, we should be careful of our everyday actions and deeds.
19. ‘HATE ME NOW’ Tattoo
Tattoo: On the outer side of his left upper arm, Aaron had a short phrase inked which said, ‘HATE ME NOW’. The tattoo was surrounded by a red design on all its sides.
20. ‘HERMANDEZ’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘HERMANDEZ’ was tattooed on the top side of his back. The tattoo was inked in the italicised font.
Meaning: Hernanzed is Aaron’s surname.
21. Mother and Child Tattoo
Tattoo: On Aaron’s right forearm, there was a beautiful piece inked which included a portrait of a lady holding a baby in her hands. The portrait was surrounded by sun rays on its sides, followed by the words, ‘In God’s Hands‘.
Meaning: Aaron had got this ink as a dedication of love for his mother, Terri Hernandez
22. ‘IFITISTOBEITISUPTOME’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘IFITISITISUPTOME’ was inked as a single long word on the inner side of Aaron’s right upper arm which otherwise can be broken down into ‘IF IT IS IT IS UP TO ME’.
23. Hand Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘CBS/WBS IWBTG‘ was tattooed on the outer side of his right hand.
#AaronHernandez said this tattoo means “Can’t be stopped. Won’t be stopped. I will be the greatest.”
24. Portrait of Jesus Christ Tattoo
Tattoo: A huge portrait of Jesus Christ covered the major portion of Aaron’s back.
Meaning: Aaron had a difficult phase when he was charged with the dual murder. He was a religious person and had a deep faith in Jesus’ blessings.
He said, ‘When I get down or upset it my out, it hurts but I thrive off of that,’ “It didn’t make a lot of sense at the time, but it was his way of expressing his emotions”.
25. Chest Tattoo
Tattoo: The huge tattoo on Aaron’s left pec which earlier had just the initial of his mother was later covered up a huge piece that included dollars, a clock, musical notes, planes, few flowers, bill notes, and few cartoon characters. The most amazing part was the face of the elephant which carried a clock on its trunk. The words under the clock said, ‘My Perfect World‘.
Meaning: Elephant is the symbol of power, wisdom, and good luck whereas the clock symbolises the times and cycle of life. However, a clock tattoo can also be used to mark an important event in your life. More specifically, Aaron got this tattoo to represent all the important aspects of his life i.e. his mother, money, travelling as shown by aeroplane tattoos, and multiple symbols of good luck to ensure that his life went smoothly.
26. Neck Tattoo
Tattoo: On the right side of his neck, Aaron had a star inked with a letter ‘A’ and a skull inside it. Along with it, there were two words tattooed as, ‘LIFETIME’ and ‘LOYALITY’ inked on the top and the bottom of the star tattoo.
Meaning: As per the speculations, the star tattoo was referred to as the ‘Blood Gangs Tattoo. Whereas Lifetime and Loyalty were the sources of a hint towards his imprisonment.
27. ‘Roaring Lion’ Tattoo
Tattoo: A huge roaring lion was inked on Aaron’s right id arm.
Meaning: Roaring lion is the way of symbolising your powerful personality, wisdom, and strength. The words inked along with the lion said, “It’s all about the fight in you”.
28. ‘Some Do Some Dont’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘SOME DO SOME DON’T’ was tattooed on the top of Aaron’s right and left hand, respectively.
29. ‘Spider Web’ Tattoo
Tattoo: A huge spider web was inked on the center of Aaron’s left middle arm area.
Meaning: Spider web is the most common way of symbolising the times spend in the prison.
3o. Stars Tattoo
Tattoo: Multiple stars used to adorn Hernandez’s right forearm.
Meaninig: Stars are consideredd to the important symbol of gidance, rather the guidng light in one’s life. They also stand for hope, desire, wisdom, and the direction towards the right path and future.
31. ‘Torso’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Wicked laughing joker was tattooed on Aaron’s torso along with multiple dollar signs on its sides followed by the words on the top which said “mind on my money” whereas on the bottom read “money on my mind”.
32. ‘Truly Blessed’ Tattoo
Tattoo: Truly Blessed was tattooed inside Aaron’s right inner wrist.
33. ‘Quote’ Tattoo
Tattoo: An interesting quote was inked on his left bicep right under his cross tattoo which said, ‘The difference between the impossible and possible lies in a person’s determination“. The lines were said by the famous Baseball Pitcher and Manager, Tommy Lasorda.
34. ‘God Forgives’ Tattoo
Tattoo: ‘God Forgives‘ was tattooed on his right arm in a reverse manner so that he could read it easily in the mirror. This was another of Aaron’s tattoo which he got after comminting the murder in 2013 and the tattoo was proved in court as a source to prove Aaron guilty of murder.
35. A shell casing and Gun Muzzle Tattoo
Tattoo: A shell casing, revolver cylinder, and gun muzzle were tattooed on Aaron’s arm and he got them inked after committing his crime. In the court, his tattoo artist was produced and it was proved by Suffolk First Assistant District Attorney Patrick M. Haggan who said in Suffolk Superior Court that the body art “is in fact an admission by Mr Hernandez. as the gun tattoos were exactly similar to those guns which were used by Aaron in the crime scene.
36. Letter P Tattoo
