Former UConn and South Carolina basketball player Eric Cobb has been arrested on a charge of murdering his mother, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (Fla). told The Florida Times-Union.
Erika Ellen Winford, 51, was found wrapped inside blankets and towels in the backyard of their home with “multiple gunshot wounds to her head, stomach and left leg,” per the report.
Police found Cobb, 28, inside the home and by himself when they arrived and they brought him in for questioning.
The officers found “multiple apparent bullet defects” in the main hallway’s floor, along with the blood, per the report.
Some sections of the hallway also seemed to have been cleaned.
Police discovered a “soft case” with an AR-style rifle and a Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic handgun, along with live rifle and 9mm rounds, in front of Cobb’s bed, per the report.
A trash can outside on the curb had 14 “spent” 9mm shell casings.
Police had been called Tuesday morning after a male friend of Winford came to the house to check on her after she did not answer her phone.
The friend then found a “large amount” of blood and what looked like a body inside of a blanket, according to the Sheriff’s Office. He informed another friend about the development.
Said friend had spent Sunday with Winford and noted that she “appeared apprehensive” about leaving his car, with Cobb being home at the time.
On Monday, someone living nearby told investigators they heard a woman yell, “He’s going to kill me,” and a second person said they heard several gun shots, per the report.
Winford’s friends told police she was scared of her “possessed” and “schizophrenic” son who allegedly needed medication, but she could not afford to do so.
Cobb’s brother told police that Eric had appeared schizophrenic and he had “cursed out” his mother roughly one and a half months prior.
“He also owned firearms and had been angry lately, according to the report,” the outlet reported.
Cobb averaged 1.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game for South Carolina during the 2015-16 season before being dismissed after being charged with assault for firing at an occupied car.
He later transferred to UConn for two seasons spanning 2017-19, averaging 3.0 points and 3.4 rebounds over 47 games with the Huskies.
