(Photo: AP Photo/Eric Draper, File)

Kern Valley State Prison officials in Central California believe that ex-NFL running back Lawrence Phillips killed his cellmate over the weekend.

According to an Associated Press report, officials found the body of Damion Soward, a 37-year-old inmate serving 82 years to life for first-degree murder, lifeless in a cell early Saturday. Phillips, 39, was his cellmate. Phillips was found guilty of choking his girlfriend in 2005 and hitting three teenagers with his car in 2006 and is serving a sentence of more than 31 years, according to the AP.

The same prison had a separate homicide that they're investigating to see if the two crimes were possibly linked in any way.

After starring at Nebraska from 1993-96, the St. Louis Rams tabbed him with the sixth overall selection in the 1996 NFL Draft. He went on to play two seasons for the Rams, before they released him for insubordination in 1997. Phillips then had brief stints with the Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers before playing in the Arena Football League and Canadian Football League. 

BET Sports News - Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes. Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.