BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities say a man sharing a prison cell with former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips died by strangulation.
The Kern County Coroner's Office on Thursday released the autopsy results saying that 37-year-old Damion Soward died from neck-compression asphyxia, ruling it a homicide. Soward's lifeless body was found Saturday at Kern Valley State Prison.
Prison officials say they suspect 39-year-old Phillips, once one of the nation's top college football players at Nebraska. He played for the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers.
Phillips is serving a sentence of more than 31 years.