Ever look at pictures of serial killers and see if there's something in their eyes that make them seem like killers? Hernandez looked like such a nice guy in those pics. So sad.
I lived in Bristol when he was drafted and was just leaving as he was being indicted. That town was pretty proud of him.
One thing I learned in that article is exactly where he grew up in Bristol. The west end of Bristol is probably the roughest part of town and while he technically grew up in the western half of Bristol, the neighborhood he grew up in is more just a blue collar part of town. There's some petty theft and maybe the odd threat of violence around there but it isn't the "West End".
He definitely rolled with a bad crowd from Bristol, most of them guys who actually were from the bad part of town (since they all go to the same high school, I assume that's how they connected). He didn't have a reputation for that kind of violence in Bristol at all, which is why a lot of people there were shocked with the charges. He was a people pleaser with an easy smile.
It's too bad.
It's also interesting that he maintains his innocence to his brother. It's almost like he wants to keep that one part of his life as it was.
EDIT - Should add that it's fairly obvious that murder and mayhem follow him, whether in Boston, Florida, or North Attleboro. It's all circumstantial evidence, of course, but pretty damning evidence that he's guilty of all the murders of which he's accused.