Ex-Rams running back Lawrence Phillips charged with murder in cellmate’s death

Former football star Lawrence Phillips has been charged with first-degree murder in the strangling death of his prison cellmate in April, according to the Kern County district attorney’s office.

Already serving a sentence of more than 31 years, the 40-year-old Phillips faces life in prison if found guilty of the latest charge.

Damion Soward was found unresponsive in the cell he shared with Phillips on April 11. Officials determined the 37-year-old Soward was strangled to death.

A Los Angeles native, Phillips became a college football star at Nebraska, leading the Cornhuskers to two national titles and becoming a Heisman Trophy hopeful. He was picked sixth overall by the St. Louis Rams in the 1996 draft, but his success didn’t transfer to the NFL.

He faced numerous legal issues through the years and ultimately was convicted of domestic violence, false imprisonment and vehicle theft.