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Tipsheet: Phillips tried but failed to stop his descent

Related Topics: Lawrence Phillips, Los Angeles

Well, now, there was a terrible coincidence. As the Rams moved back to Los Angeles, one of their signature draft picks in St. Louis, Lawrence Phillips, died in his California prison cell.

His violent temper earned him hard time. He assaulted his girlfriend in one incident, then drove a car into a crowd in another. Any hope he had of ever getting out of prison ended when he was accused of murdering his cellmate.

That charge, authorities suspect, led Phillips to kill himself -- although his attorney did not sense his depression.

“There was nothing about his demeanor that made me think he was suicidal at all, or depressed,’’ Jesse Whitten told USA TODAY Sports.