Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips, 39, was already serving a 31 year prison sentence after being convicted in 2005 of choking a former girlfriend twice in San Diego (once into unconsciousness) and hitting three teenagers with his car in Los Angeles. His cellmate, 37 year old Damion Soward, had been serving an 82-year sentence on a 2009 conviction on first-degree murder charges. Now his own murder is being investigated and Lawrence Phillips is the prime suspect.
Phillips and Soward were cellmates at Kern Valley State Prison where Soward was found unresponsive just before 1am on Saturday. Prison officials, Kern County Coroner and the Kern County District Attorney are investigating Soward’s death, along with another inmate who was killed. His cellmate is being accused of murdering him. No word of whether these two alleged murders are related.
