*A former University of Connecticut basketball player is in the proverbial hot seat amid charges surrounding the death of his mother. The player, Eric Cobb, was arrested on Feb. 10 and charged with second-degree murder, according to the Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff’s Office.
A statement from the office detailed the situation, revealing police found the body of 51-year-old Erika Winford wrapped in blankets and towels in the backyard of her Durkeeville home on Feb 10. The matriarch had been shot in the head, an autopsy determined.
Cobb was arrested by authorities while trying to leave the home, which he shared with his mother. The 28-year-old athlete was booked into Duval County Jail.
During their inspection of the home, authorities discovered multiple bullet holes in the main hallway as well as an AR-style rifle, Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic handgun and spent shell casings in a trash can on the curb outside. The hallway appeared to have been cleaned, Sandra Rose noted.
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Speaking with investigators the same day the found Winford’s body, one neighbor said they heard a woman yell, “He’s going to kill me.” A second neighbor mentioned hearing several gun shots, according to the New York Post reports.
Winford’s death came after she voiced her fear of her son to friends, saying he was “schizophrenic” but could not afford his psych meds.
During his college days Cobb played for the UConn and University of South Carolina men’s basketball teams. His time on the South Carolina team ended when he was dismissed after his arrest in March 2016 for shooting at an occupied vehicle with a BB gun. No one was hurt during that incident.
Two years later, in 2018, Cobb found himself dismissed from the UConn team for “conduct deemed detrimental to the team,” WTNH reports. Despite the dismissal, he was reinstated by the team a month later.
Cobb’s time in the pro’s was no better as he became an unrestricted free agent after going undrafted upon entering the NBA draft in 2019. From there, came a stint playing professional basketball in Croatia before returning to the U.S. during the COVID pandemic in 2020.
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