Throughout the entire Aaron Hernandez murder investigation, people have wondered what exactly the New England Patriots knew about their former tight end’s life off the football field. It has become obvious that Hernandez hung around with a shady crowd and did his best to continue living the life of a thug, but to what extent were the Patriots aware of his indiscretions?

In a lengthy Rolling Stone piece that examine’s Hernandez’s life since childhood, Bill Belichick’s alleged knowledge of the 23-year-old’s crumbling personal life becomes a bit more clear. This past spring, before Odin Lloyd was shot and killed, Belichick had reportedly warned Hernandez that he was down to his final strike with the team.

Rolling Stone’s Paul Solotaroff claims Belichick was made aware of a domestic dispute at Hernandez’s Hermosa Beach, Calif. rental in March, where police were called after Hernandez allegedly put his fist through a window. No arrest was made, but Belichick reportedly “exploded” on Hernandez and told him he would be traded or cut at the end of the 2013 if he didn’t shape up.

In February, prior to the Hermosa Beach incident, Hernandez had reportedly flown to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis to confide in Belichick that he believed his life was in danger. A source told Solotaroff that Hernandez explained to Belichick that he was worried a group of gangsters he had befriended were “trying to kill him.”

According to a close Hernandez associate, Belichick advised the former Florida Gator to rent a safe house and lay low for a while. It is believed that he followed the advice by later renting an apartment in Franklin, Mass., though I highly doubt Belichick envisioned it becoming the so called “flophouse” where investigators seized several pieces of evidence after being led there by Carlos Oritz.

As we shared with you on Tuesday, the Rolling Stone article also claimed Hernandez was a heavy angel dust user who carried a gun around with him for safety. One friend of Hernandez’s family speculated that his use of angel dust, which can alter a person’s mentality, led to his paranoia.

“Don’t matter what it’s about: Aaron’s out of his mind,” the friend said. “He’s been twisted on dust now for more than a year, which is when all of this crazy sh– started.”

Previous reports have indicated that Hernandez had gang ties and feared for his life, so that seems to be a common theme. Whether or not his alleged drug use made those fears too much to handle remains a mystery.

Bill Belichick spoke to the media on Tuesday for the first time since former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested and charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd. While most of his press conference was vintage Belichick, he showed more compassion and regret than many people expected him to.

Belichick began the news conference by expressing his condolences to the Lloyd family and calling the murder a “tragedy.”

“This is a sad day on so many levels,” Belichick said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim.”

Belichick mentioned Hernandez by name at the very beginning of his lengthy opening statement, but only referred to him as “the player” from that point on. He stated that he agreed “100%” with the comments Patriots owner Robert Kraft made about the situation earlier this offseason, and then surprised some by taking responsibility for the fact that Hernandez did not work out.

“We’ll learn from this terrible experience,” Belichick said. “This does not in any way represent the way the New England Patriots want to do things. As coach, I’m primarily responsible for people we bring into this organization. Personally, I’m challenged by decisions that affect the team on a daily basis. We always try to do what’s best for the team. We’ll continue to do this and will work to do a better job going forward.”

[Related: Tom Brady gives first comments since Aaron Hernandez arrest]

After his opening statement, Belichick was very vague and answered very few questions. He said he has been advised to not speak about individuals who are involved in an ongoing investigation, but did give some insight when asked if the Patriots have looked into the claim that other football players visited Hernandez’s so-called “flop house.” He said the team has “absolutely done as much as we can” to gather information on that front.

Overall, I thought Belichick handled the situation well. He put his typical arrogance aside and delivered an adequate opening statement. While saying he has been advised to not speak about individuals who are involved in an ongoing investigation will be seen as a copout, it’s smart. Regardless of how compelling the evidence is against Hernandez, his trial has yet to even begin. Saying too much could get the team into trouble.

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Bill Belichick has not provided any comment on the ongoing Aaron Hernandez murder investigation, and we would not expect him to. For starters, the investigation is still in progress. The NFL would not want anyone commenting about it in detail, but we know Belichick would take that to another level. But to make matters easier, the New England Patriots coach has been out of the country since the story broke.

According to the NY Post, Belichick was spotted at a train station in Venice, Italy with his girlfriend Linda Holliday on Friday. The couple has reportedly been traveling through Italy and stopping at various locations. Talk about convenient.

Many of you will be quick to accuse Belichick of hiding from a major organizational scandal, but he was reportedly out of the country when Hernandez’s name first arose in connection with the murder. That includes when Hernandez went to the Patriots facility before he was arrested and was told he is not allowed there anymore.

Nevertheless, I’m sure Belichick is pleased with the way the timing worked out. He had his hands full with all the Tim Tebow questions before any major news surfaced about Hernandez, and he was already getting cranky about that. Reporters are going to pepper Belichick with questions about Hernandez when he returns from Europe, but allow me to answer for him.

“We’re only worried about players who are with our team.”

Yeah, that about covers it.

See all the LBS coverage of the Aaron Hernandez murder