In the first of a six-part series profiling the late Aaron Hernandez, The Boston Globe reported the former New England Patriots tight end was sexually abused as a child, beaten by his father and began smoking marijuana regularly in high school.

The Globe’s “Spotlight Team” produced the series after hours of interviewing people who knew Hernandez, sifting through thousands of court and government records, and reading numerous of texts and emails Hernandez sent before killing himself in prison last year. The report also includes information gathered from about 300 phone calls over a six-month period Hernandez made from jail.

At the time of his death, Hernandez was serving a life sentence without parole for the 2013 killing of his friend Odin Lloyd.

Source: Aaron Hernandez: Ex-Patriots TE was sexually abused, beaten, per report