Former NFL Running Back Accused of Killing Cellmate

Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips has been accused of killing his cellmate at Kem State Prison in Central California.

Phillips’ cellmate, Damion Soward, was pronounced dead after being found unconscious Saturday morning, prison spokesman Lt. Marshall Denning said in a statement.

A former college football star at the University of Nebraska, Phillips helped the Cornhuskers win back-to-back national championships in 1994 and 1995.  Following his NCAA career, he would be picked sixth overall in the 1996 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. He played for the Rams for only a couple seasons until being cut by the team in 1997 for insubordination.  He then played short stints with the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers before heading to NFL Europe, AFL and CFL.

In 2005 Phillips was arrested for assault after allegedly driving a car into three teenagers after a dispute at a Los Angeles pick-up football game. At the time of the arrest, Phillips was also wanted by the police in connection with alleged domestic incidents that left a former girlfriend unconscious. Phillips was convicted for both incidents and was sentenced to more than 31 years in prison.

The 37-year-old inmate killed, Damion Soward, was serving 82 years to life for a first-degree murder conviction.

Police and prison officials are currently investigating the murder.