Sumith Prasad
In FX’s crime drama series ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,’ Tanya Singleton is Aaron Hernandez’s cousin and close confidante. When the football player’s relationship with his mother, Terri Hernandez, turns sour, he seeks comfort in her. He moves from his house to her place to avoid interacting with his mother. Tanya remains an integral part of his life even though she believes that his mother stole her husband, Jeff Cummings, from her. In reality, Aaron and Tanya cherished a close companionship. When he was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd, she was involved in the case as well.
Tanya Singleton’s House Was Aaron Hernandez’s Second Home
Tanya Singleton was the daughter of the sister of Aaron Hernandez’s father, Dennis Hernandez. She was initially married to Jeff Cummings, who was in an extramarital affair with the football player’s mother, Terri. In ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,’ Tanya slaps Terri after learning about her husband’s adultery while the latter is watching Aaron play basketball. In reality, the confrontation happened when the mother was watching DJ Hernandez play football for the University of Connecticut. After the incident, she separated from Cummings and welcomed Aaron to her home on Lake Avenue in Bristol, Connecticut. The house is described as his “second childhood home.”
Tanya eventually divorced Cummings, who went on to marry Terri. She then started nurturing a relationship with Thaddeus “TL” Singleton III, who lived with her and Aaron in the house on Lake Avenue. The couple eventually got married. According to James Patterson’s famed true crime book ‘All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row,’ the football player used to drop by Tanya and TL’s house to do drugs. Aaron’s tattoos included the name Juno, Tanya’s son. He also reportedly helped them financially since he joined the University of Florida to play for the Florida Gators.
Tanya Singleton Chose Not to Testify Against Her Cousin
Tanya Singleton was involved in the murder case of Odin Lloyd after he was shot dead by Aaron Hernandez. The authorities discovered that she bought a bus ticket for Ernest Wallace, the football player’s friend who was initially charged with accessory after the fact to murder, to leave Georgia for Florida after driving him out of Connecticut. She also decided against testifying before a grand jury concerning the case even after she was offered immunity. After the investigators stated in court documents that they believed she made “overt attempts […] to hinder or mislead the investigation,” she was arraigned on a criminal contempt charge in August 2013.
In December 2013, Tanya’s husband, Thaddeus “TL” Singleton III, died in a car crash. His vehicle went off a road and crashed into the Farmington Country Club in Connecticut. In August 2014, she pleaded guilty to the contempt charge. However, she was battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer at the time. When the county jail officials made it clear that the prison facilities couldn’t meet her medical needs, a judge sentenced her to two years of probation.
“Ms. Singleton’s health is the only reason she is not being placed in jail,” the judge stated. According to the probationary period conditions, Tanya was subject to GPS monitoring. The court also ordered home confinement for the first year, except for medical and legal appointments, describing her “willful conduct” as an “assault on the rule of law.”
Tanya Singleton Died of Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer
By then, Tanya Singleton had already spent 196 days in jail in relation to the case. The prosecution further claimed that Aaron Hernandez tried to buy her silence by offering to set up trust funds for her two children to use when they become adults. However, the accounts were never made. While the legal proceedings were progressing regarding the murder of Odin Lloyd, Aaron was investigated concerning the 2012 murders of two men in Boston, Massachusetts. Tanya chose not to testify before a grand jury regarding this separate case, resulting in another two-year probation sentence.
In 2015, Tanya’s health worsened due to her stage 4 cancer, irrespective of the aggressive therapies she underwent. In August 2015, the prosecution dropped the conspiracy to commit being an accessory after the fact of murder charge that was against her because of her physical condition. In addition to helping Ernest Wallace, she was accused of offering to assist Carlos Ortiz, another friend of Aaron, flee to Puerto Rico. After the case was dropped, she lived only around two more months. In October 2015, Tanya passed away in her home due to her cancer at the age of 39. She was survived by two little children.
Tanya’s loyalty toward Aaron attracted the media significantly. Her significance in his life was explored in several features and productions, and ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ is only one of them. Her decision to remain in jail rather than testify against her cousin continues to leave a positive or negative impression among true crime enthusiasts.
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