Lawrence Phillips grabbed his then-girlfriend by the hair and then choked her until she lost consciousness, an August 2005 incident that followed a pattern in the troubled life of the former Nebraska and NFL running back.
The victim of that assault, however, told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday that there was more to Phillips than his violent acts that led him to be incarcerated for more of than a decade. Phillips, 40, was found unresponsive in his in cell at the Kern County (Calif.) State Prison early Wednesday morning. He was pronounced dead a short time later at a local hospital and his death was ruled a suicide by the coroner on Friday.
"I really felt bad when I heard," Amaliya Weisler said. "Lawrence really did have a big heart. There was a good side to him that people didn't realize he had because they only heard about the bad things he did."
Three weeks after Phillips assaulted Weisler, Phillips was arrested when he dove his car into a group of people after a pickup football game near the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Phillips was convicted of assault, false imprisonment by violence, making a criminal threat and auto theft for the attack on Weisler and seven counts felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon for the car incident.
In 2009, Phillips was sentenced to 31 years in prison. In April, he was accused of killing his cellmate.
Phillips and Weisler met through a mutual friend. Phillips eventually moved into Weisler's apartment in San Diego and the two dated for about six months.
"All he had with him were his clothes," Weisler said. "I don't think he even had a bag — or even his ID — with him when he moved in."
Until the assault, Weisler said Phillips treated her well.
"He was always nice to me," Weisler said. "He was a perfect gentleman. Then I could tell he became depressed and we started to argue. I said maybe he needed to stay with his cousin — and that's what he got upset."
Weisler testified against Phillips, saying she did it out of obligation to tell the truth and not because she felt the need to punish Phillips. The two kept in contact until Phillips was sentenced in December 2009.
Phillips' transient childhood, bouncing among foster homes, could be the root of Phillips' issues as an adult, Weisler said. She added that he blamed his agents for mismanaging his finances.
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