Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips found dead

Lawrence Phillips, former National Football League running back and standout at The University of Nebraska, was found dead Wednesday morning inside his prison cell, according to the USA Today.

The death is being investigated as a suspected suicide, according to a press release from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“The incident occurred at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13, when staff conducting security checks found Phillips … unresponsive in his cell”.

Phillips immediately became a suspect in the prisoner’s death and prosecutors had set in motion more charges and yet another trial meant to convict Phillips for the death.

Phillips, 40, was serving a 31-year prison sentence for several offenses, including assaulting his ex-girlfriend twice in 2005 and intentionally ramming his vehicle into a group of teenagers after a pickup football game in Los Angeles.

In the end, Lawrence Phillips was never able to get past his violent temper.

He had been housed alone in a segregation cell since April 2013 after allegedly killing his cellmate.

In 19 months with the Rams, Phillips was arrested three times and spent 23 days in jail before he was released midway through the 1997 season.

Lawrence Phillips (33) of the San Francisco 49ers carries the ball during a September 9, 1999, game against the New Orleans Saints in San Francisco.

Phillips pleaded no contest to third-degree misdemeanour assault and trespassing and was sentenced to one year of probation. He later ended his playing career with stints in the Arena Football League and the Canadian Football League.

Phillips was drafted sixth overall in 1996 by the Rams despite a series of off-field troubles during his college career that deterred other suitors. Tonissa says they were extremely close and last spoke with him around the Christmas holiday and he was very upbeat and positive at time, focusing on becoming a better person.