Aaron Hernandez grew up in the flagging factory city of Bristol, Conn., where during his youth a declining downtown was prowled by petty criminals who dreamed of making bigger scores in New England’s prosperous hubs.
Mr. Hernandez’s circle of friends included small-time crooks, but he was largely shielded from the serious wrongdoing because he was one of the few who had a golden ticket out of central Connecticut. At 17 years old, after he was allowed to graduate high school early, he left home as a prized football recruit of the University of Florida, relocating so he could get an early start on becoming a big-time college football player.