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Coroner: Ex-NFL running back's cellmate death ruled homicide (The Associated Press)

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.