The cellmate of former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips found dead last week was a victim of homicide by strangulation, according to the coroner's report with the Kern County Sheriff's Office.
Damion Soward, 37, was found lifeless in the cell he shared with Phillips last Saturday and was later pronounced dead at the central California prison. Phillips, 39, is the prime suspect in the homicide.
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On Aug. 21, 2005, Phillips was charged with assault with a deadly weapon after driving his car into three teenagers following a dispute during a game of pick-up football in Los Angeles. At the time, he was wanted in San Diego on two domestic assault charges after an ex-girlfriend claimed he choked her.
In 2009, Phillips was sentenced to 31 years in prison for both incidents.
A star at Nebraska in the mid-1990s, the Rams drafted Phillips sixth overall in 1996, ahead of future NFL stars like Eddie George, Marvin Harrison and Ray Lewis. Phillips spent only one year with the Rams and bounced between four other NFL, CFL and European teams during a span of five years.
Soward had been serving 82 years to life for first-degree murder.