ROCK HILL, S.C. — Former NFL Player and Rock Hill native Phillip Adams had a chronic brain injury called CTE when he fatally shot six people before killing himself in April, officials said Tuesday morning.
CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is a brain disease brought on by “a history of repetitive brain trauma” in some people such as athletes and military combat veterans.
Officials have not said the brain disease is the reason Adams shot six people at a neighbor’s home. However, officials did say the brain disease was likely a part of a puzzle indicating a reason may never be determined.
Adams had prescribed amphetamines in his system at the time of the killings, as well as an over-the-counter drug called Kratom that can be a stimulant in small doses and acts similarly to opiates in large doses, said Sabrina Gast, York County coroner.
Dr. Ann McKee, a neuropathologist at the Boston University CTE Center, told reporters Tuesday at a press conference at the York County Coroner’s Office that Adams had “stage 2 CTE” — going further to say that his “frontal lobe pathology” was “abnormally severe.” She compared Adams’ brain injury to that of another former NFL player, Aaron Hernandez. He was convicted of murder in 2015 before he died by suicide in a prison cell in 2017. He too was diagnosed with CTE.
McKee said, based on investigations, Adams suffered from memory loss, paranoia and impulsive behavior that is common for people who have stage 2 CTE.
There are four stages of the brain disease. Most football players diagnosed with CTE in their 30s have stage two CTE, according to information released Tuesday. Adams’ CTE brain disease likely came from his years of football and hits to the head, McKee said.
Adam’s brain showed extensive damage when it was examined after his death, McKee said. The disease can only be found after death.
“His 20 years of football gave rise to his CTE,” McKee said.
Adams’ CTE for his age — 32 — was unusually severe, McKee said.
McKee did not say CTE caused the homicides or Adams to kill himself as law enforcement closed in on him in a standoff on April 7.
“CTE might have contributed to his behavior,” McKee said. “It was clear he was developing paranoia, memory problems and impulsive behaviors.”
McKee acknowledged that it is not usual for persons who were found to have CTE to commit multiple homicides.
McKee made the announcement at a news conference with the York County coroner and York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson.
The Herald and Charlotte Observer were the first to report April 9 that Adams’ brain would be sent to McKee’s research lab in Boston.
McKee, who has played a key role in researching CTE, established the McKee CTE staging scheme to define severity in CTE.
The mass shooting became a national story that was mentioned by President Joe Biden the next day at the White House.
Tolson said Adams shot and killed Dr. Robert Lesslie, his wife Barbara Lesslie and two of their grandchildren, Adah, 9, and Noah, 5. Two HVAC workers at the Lesslie home that day — James Lewis and Robert Shook of North Carolina — also died after being shot.
Shook and Lewis were shot outside the home, The Herald previously reported. Adams then went into the house and shot the four Lesslie family members who were found in the back of the house in a workout room.
Adams, who lived nearby with his parents, then shot himself as deputies tried to get him out of the family home on Marshall Road south of Rock Hill.
Tolson said Tuesday Adams had more than 20 guns in his home, including high-caliber handguns, but cautioned that gun collecting is not unusual in York County.
Adams also had incoherent writings in notebooks found at the home.
Tolson said it remains unclear why Adams targeted the Lesslie family. Tolson said the puzzle of why is likely several factors, including possibly CTE, the drugs in Adams’ system, and his general condition at the time.
“What we have here is a big puzzle,” Tolson said. “We still don’t know why he targeted the Lesslie family. The connection we know is Mr. Adams lived nearby.”
Gast said it is unclear if the drugs Adams had in his system at the time of the killings had any effect on why the crimes were committed.
Kratom, the drug found in Adams' system, is a medication available online that can cause effects similar to both opioids and stimulants, according to the federal government National Institute on Drug Abuse. Kratom, from a plant, interacts with opioid receptors in the brain, producing sedation, pleasure and decreased pain, especially when users consume large amounts of the plant, the institute of health says on its Web site.
“When kratom is taken in small amounts, users report increased energy, sociability and alertness instead of sedation. However, kratom also can cause uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous side effects,” the institute stated.
“The findings of the (CTE) study do not give the totality of why,” Gast said. “It’s a small piece of the puzzle.”
Adams played football and basketball at Rock Hill High School before going on to play football at S.C. State University and later in the NFL. He spent several seasons as a defensive back with the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons before his career ended due to injuries. He played professionally from 2010 to 2016.
During his career, Adams had multiple concussions, according to Gast and McKee. He also had other subconcussive hits to the head over the duration of his time playing football, McKee said.
The families affected by April’s incident — including the Lesslie family and Adams family — provided statements at Tuesday’s press conference. The Adams’ family said they remain deeply saddened for the victims’ families.
“It is shocking to hear how severe his condition was,” the family said. “He was desperately seeking help from the NFL. ... We now know that these deficits were most likely caused by the disease.”
The Lesslie family said in a statement:
“These eight months have been unimaginably difficult. Even in the midst of crushing heartbreak, we are finding some comfort in the CTE results and the explanation they provide for the irrational behaviors pertaining to this tragedy.”
