In April, reports surfaced that ex-NFL running back Lawrence Phillips was believed to have killed a prison cell mate.

Well, according to ESPN, on Wednesday, Phillips was charged with the murder of 37-year-old Damion Soward at Kern Valley State Prison in California. Soward's death was determined to be caused by strangulation.

Phillips, 40, now faces a first-degree murder charge on top of the upwards of 31 years that he's already serving for choking his girlfriend and later driving his car into three teens following a pickup football game.

Phillips, who starred in Nebraska before going on to the NFL to play for the likes of the St. Louis Rams, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers from 1996-99, will be arraigned Sept. 15 at Kern County Superior Court in Bakersfield, Calif. He will reportedly not face the death penalty.

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(Photo: Los Angeles Sheriff's Department)