Lawrence Phillips – the former NFL running back who played for the Rams, Dolphins, and 49ers during his three years in the league – has passed away at the age of 40.
Phillips was reportedly found dead in his cell at Kern Valley State Prison early Wednesday morning.
An autopsy has yet to be conducted, but it is believed that Phillips took his own life by strangling himself with an article of clothing.
Phillips had been in solitary confinement since April, when he allegedly murdered his cellmate, Damion Soward.
The once-promising athlete had been imprisoned for a number of crimes, including spousal abuse and running over a group of teenagers with his car, when he wrote a troubling letter to his mother just weeks before Soward was found dead:
“I feel myself very close to snapping,” Phillips wrote in March of 2015.
“My anger grows daily as I have become fed up with prison. I feel my anger is near bursting and that will result in my death or the death of someone else.”
Phillips was awaiting trial for the murder at the time of his death.
A two-time national champion at the University of Nebraska, Phillips professional career was cut short by legal and personal troubles off the field.
Sadly, his problems only worsened after he left football.
