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Report: Patriots' Aaron Hernandez Questioned In Death Investigation

BOSTON (CBS) - New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has been questioned in connection with the death of a man in North Attleboro.

Sources tell Sports Illustrated that State Police questioned Hernandez on Monday after a jogger found the body of a 27-year-old man in a North Attleboro industrial park. The man has not been identified, but his death is being investigated as a homicide.

The SI report says Hernandez is not believed to be a murder suspect, but a vehicle rented by him is a key piece of evidence.

Aaron Hernandez
Police outside the North Attleboro home of former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez in June 2013 (WBZ-TV)

The man who made the grisly discovery did not want to be identified, but described what he found.

"I saw an African-American male, probably 25-35 years old, decently dressed," the man said. "He was stiff motionless, one of the police officers came back later and said it looked the guy had been shot somewhere else and dumped here."

Police returned to Hernandez's North Attleboro home Tuesday night. About a dozen officers entered the home on Ronald Meyer Drive, which is less than a mile from where the body was found.

Two men left the home with investigators and went to the North Attleboro Police Station. Those men told WBZ-TV's Bill Shields that they are the uncles of Hernandez's fiancee, and were just visiting for the day from Connecticut.

Hernandez was in the home when State Police left the home Tuesday night.

Patriots spokesman Stacey James released a statement saying, "I am aware of the reports, but I do not anticipate that we will be commenting publicly during an ongoing police investigation."

WBZ-TV's Lauren Leamanczyk reports

Hernandez, 23, is from Bristol, Connecticut.  He played college football at the University of Florida and was drafted in the fourth round (113th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Read: Aaron Hernandez Profile Page

He's now in his fourth season with the Patriots.  He signed a five-year, $40 million extension with the team last August.

His girlfriend gave birth to their first child last November, a daughter named Avielle Janelle Hernandez.

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