(KMJ) – Officials at Kern Valley State Prison said early Wednesday morning current inmate and ex-NFL player Lawrence Phillips was found unresponsive in his cell. He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. His death is suspected to be by suicide.
In a news release, the Prison says staff conducting security checks at the Delano prison found 40-year old Phillips unresponsive at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday. He had been in an administrative segregation unit on single-cell status since April 11, 2013, after he was suspected of killing his cellmate.
On Tuesday, a Kern County Superior Court judge found there was enough evidence to hold him for trial on a charge of first-degree murder in the killing of Damion Soward.
Phillips was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m.
