Another Aaron Hernandez associate dies under shady circumstances

A Connecticut woman who had connections to accused murderer Aaron Hernandez died Monday, making her the third associate of the former New England Patriots tight end to die in the last six months.

The deceased woman, Tabitha Perry, survived a June 30 car accident that killed Thaddeus Singleton. Although Perry and Singleton had a child together, he was married to Hernanez's cousin.

Perry, 27, was found unconscious and not breathing after police responded to a 911 call from a home in Southington. An investigation is ongoing and medical examiners are awaiting the results of toxicology tests before declaring an official cause of death.

Following the June 17 shooting death of Odin Lloyd, Perry was one of the people from Hernandez's hometown social circle that police brought in for questioning.

Police say that Singleton was the "nexus" of Hernandez's network in Bristol and that he was responsible for connecting the former tight end with his two alleged accomplices, Ernest Wallace and Carlos Ortiz. His wife, Tanya Singleton, faces an accessory charge in Lloyd's death.

The other person with a connection to Hernandez to die since Lloyd’s murder was his uncle, Robert Valentine. He died from a head injury after an early morning moped accident in August.

People who know Hernandez are certainly noticing that their group of friends is getting smaller.

"Five months…everyone around me is gone," said Johnny Booze III, a New Britain resident who lived with the Singletons and is close with Wallace. "It's painful, it's hard.”

[The Courant]