Former NFL player who killed 6 people suffered from brain disease

A posthumous brain scan of Phillip Adams, 32, a former NFL player who retired from the sport after a unsuccessful career and shot six people to death before committing suicide in April, revealed he was suffering in a ” unusually severe” of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (ECT, also known as pugilistic dementia), a degenerative brain disorder found in athletes and others who have a history of repeated blows to the head.

Ann McKee, MD, director of the CTE Center at Boston University, said a scan of Adams’ brain showed significantly dense lesions in the two frontal lobes, an abnormally severe diagnosis for a person in their 30s, and very similar to Aaron’s Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight-end who committed suicide at age 27 after being convicted of a murder he committed in 2013.

Adams’s violent outbreak turned an early spring day into a nightmare that rocked the community of Rock Hill, South Carolina, a town of 65,000 in which football takes center stage; Rock Hill has produced many talented players, and their nickname is Football City USA.

The victims were Robert Lesslie, a respected local doctor; his wife, Barbara; and two of the couple’s grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5. Adams also killed two air-conditioning technicians, James Lewis and Robert Shook, whom he confronted at the Lesslie’s home. He later barricaded himself in the family home, then shot himself.

“The last eight months have been unimaginably difficult,” the Lesslie family said in a statement. “Even in the midst of our overwhelming suffering, the results of the ETC give us some comfort in offering an explanation for the irrational behaviors that resulted in this tragedy.”

Kevin Tolson, the sheriff of York County, where Rock Hill is located, said on Tuesday that the police investigation had not identified any connection between Adams and the Lesslies, and there was no documentation showing that Adams had been a patient of Lesslie.

Lawyers representing Shook’s family have requested access to the ETC exam findings and hired private investigators to try to determine how Adams obtained the firearms used in the murders. The intention is to include these details in a lawsuit filed against Adams’ estate in July. A hearing on the case is scheduled for January 4th.

Adams used two weapons, .45 and 9 mm pistols, in the attacks. Police found more than 20 other firearms at Adams’ home, according to Tolson. In 2016, he had been charged with the offense of carrying a concealed weapon in North Carolina.

ETC is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head, and its diagnosis is only possible posthumously. Degenerative brain disease has been linked to alarming symptoms such as personality change, memory loss and impulsive outbursts.

“Severe frontal lobe pathologies may have contributed to Adams’ behavioral abnormalities as well as physical, psychiatric and psychosocial factors,” McKee said at a news conference on Tuesday. “Theoretically, the combination of poor impulse control, paranoia, restricted decision-making, emotional instability, anger and violent tendencies, caused by damage to the frontal lobe, could converge and reduce an individual’s resistance to the practice of homicidal acts – but in In general, this type of behavior is multifactorial”.

Adams was a defensive back and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL draft. He has played with many teams in the league, defending the Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Oakland Raiders, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons, before ending his career in 2015.

His trajectory was similar to that of many players who never find a firm foothold in the NFL. But Adams had a hard time dealing with the end of his life on the field, people close to him said after the killings, especially when his last-ditch effort to secure a berth in the league failed.

He continued to live close to his family, helping to care for his mother, Phyllis, a former high school teacher who was paralyzed after an automobile accident a decade ago.

Adams’ family told investigators that they had been having trouble sleeping because of the searing pain in their head from injuries sustained during their sporting career. A serious ankle injury ended his first season in the league, and he suffered at least two documented concussions while playing for the Raiders.

Adams also complained to his family of frequent memory impairments, according to Sabrina Gast, a York County coroner. She says she found amphetamines and Kratom in Adams’ body, an unregulated drug that supposedly helps relieve chronic pain and can produce opioid-like effects if taken in large doses.

“There were indications that he was developing clear behavioral and cognitive issues,” McKee said. “I don’t think he just snapped. He was behaving more and more paranoid, having increasing memory difficulties and was likely registering increasingly impulsive behavior.”

Adams’ family agreed to have his brain sent for an ETC test at Boston University, one of the main centers of research on the disease. More than 315 former NFL players have received posthumous diagnoses of ETC, including 24 who died in their 20s and 30s, according to McKee.

Junior Seau, 43, and Dave Duerson, 50, were diagnosed with ETC after their suicide deaths; the same applies to Jordan Belcher, the Kansas City Chiefs linebacker who killed his girlfriend and then shot himself at age 25 in 2012.

“It is not possible to say that the results surprised us, but it was shocking to see how severe his condition was,” the Adams family said in a statement. “After studying the medical records of his football career, we know that he was desperately seeking help from the NFL, but all claims were denied due to his inability to remember things and handle seemingly simple tasks like traveling a few hours from home. duration to go to the doctor and undergo extensive exams.”

The NFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the findings regarding the Adams exam.

Scott Casterline, a former Adams agent, said he recommended a lawyer who could help him file a lawsuit, but Adams suddenly dumped the lawyer around January 2020. Casterline said he offered to help Adams gain access to the records doctors, and that he had appointments to be seen by independent doctors, but he did not go to them.

“I remember him telling me he had to travel to Atlanta, but he never did, and later I called his dad to ask what had happened,” Casterline said. “He said his son wasn’t ready to go. He didn’t have the ability.”

Casterline has communicated with Adams primarily via text messages and phone calls in recent years and, after Tuesday’s revelations, said he has renewed concerns about other clients who have left the NFL.

“Had I known Phillip was in trouble, I would have taken a plane,” Casterline said. “But I didn’t notice. This is hard. His mom and dad knew there was something wrong with him, but they thought he’d get out of it soon.”