Story highlights Hernandez was serving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd

Earlier this month, he was acquitted of two other murders

(CNN) Mourners said their goodbyes on Monday to ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez, who was convicted of murder in 2015 and killed himself in his prison cell last week.

Also on Monday, a Massachusetts Superior Court Justice ordered Hernandez's purported suicide notes released to this family in time for the private funeral service in Hernandez's hometown of Bristol, Connecticut.

Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, fiancee of Aaron Hernandez, arrives with their daughter at funeral

Hernandez, 27, the former tight end for the New England Patriots was found hanged in his cell early Wednesday morning. Authorities said he committed suicide. Three handwritten notes were found in the cell next to a Bible authorities said then.

The notes released to Hernandez's family were of a personal nature, but not all were necessarily written to members of Hernandez's family, said Paul Jarvey, a spokesman from the Worcester County district attorney's office.

In a brief statement after the service, Hernandez's family thanked the public for their condolences and said they wished to memorialize him in private, CNN affiliate WTNH reported.