Former NFL Star Lawrence Phillips Found Dead in Cell in Alleged Suicide

Wednesday (Jan. 13), former NFL star Lawrence Phillips, was discovered dead at California's Kern Valley State Prison. According to USA Today, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Terry Thornton, the 40-year-old's death is currently being investigated as a possible suicide. The former athlete was potentially facing the death penalty for allegedly straggling his cellmate to death. Initially, Phillips was serving 31-years for driving into three teenagers and assaulting his ex-girlfriend in another incident.

On March 5, 2015, the former St. Louis Rams running back addressed going through a mental breakdown in a letter to his mother one month before his cellmate's death, writing, "I feel myself very close to snapping,'' he wrote. "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.''

Source: USA Today