Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips is suspected of killing his cellmate in a Central California prison , it has emerged . Phillips , who was jailed in 2005 , is serving a sentence of more than 31 years for choking his girlfriend in San Diego and driving his car into three teens after a pickup football game in Los Angeles . On Monday , prison officials revealed he is suspected of killing Damion Soward , a 37-year-old inmate from San Bernardino County serving 82 years to life for a first-degree murder conviction . Nebraska 's Lawrence Phillips Phillips is suspected of killing his cellmate in a Central California prison . Soward was found lifeless on Saturday morning in the cell he shared with Phillips , 39 , at Kern Valley State Prison . He was later pronounced dead , prison spokesman Lt. Marshall Denning said in a statement . Phillips was once one of the nation 's top college football players at Nebraska . He played for the St. Louis Rams , until being released in 1997 for insubordination . He also played for the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers . It was n't clear if Phillips has an attorney . Prison officials said they suspect a second inmate at the prison of killing his cellmate . It 's unclear if the two are related . John Munoz , a 24-year-old sentenced to 42 years on for sexual battery and other charges in Los Angeles County , is suspected of killing cellmate , 41-year-old Rattanak Kim , who was serving a sentence of 35-years to life for conspiracy to commit murder in San Diego County . Prison officials are investigating both deaths along with the Kern County Coroner and Kern County District Attorney , prison officials said . Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article .
hug Phillips , 39 , was one of the nation 's top players for Nebraska . He was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to 31 years at Kern Valley State Prison . His cellmate Damion Soward , 37 , was found lifeless on the morning . Soward was sentenced 82 years to life for first - degree murder .