Former NFL player Phillip Adams, who killed six and then himself, had 'unusually severe' CTE

Doctor compared Adams' brain to that of fellow NFLer Aaron Hernandez, who suffered from CTE before taking his own life while in prison
Phillip Adams #20 and Charles Godfrey #30 of the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at the Georgia Dome on December 27, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia
By Sophie Mann

Phillip Adams, a former NFL player, who fatally shot six people before killing himself earlier this year in South Carolina had an "unusually severe" case of stage 2 CTE, a brain disease linked to head injuries and common in football players, said a Boston University neuropathologist.

Adams, who was 32, had a significant amount of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) pathology in both frontal lobes of his brain, said Dr. Ann McKee.

She also the level of Adams' CTE was similar to that of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez, who killed himself in prison while serving time for murder. 

"Mr. Adams' CTE pathology was different, however, from other young NFL players with CTE. It was different in that it was unusually severe in both frontal lobes," said McKee, who also evaluated Hernandez's brain for the disease, which can only be diagnosed after death.

Hernandez, according to the doctor, was suffering from stage 3 CTE, which is associated with cognitive and memory loss, in addition to impaired judgement and behavioral swings. 

On April 7, Adams shot two air conditioning repairmen outside the home of a prominent doctor in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He then forcefully entered the home of Dr. Robert Lesslie, where he shot the doctor, his wife, and two of their grandchildren aged 5 and 9. 

"As we process these results, we are deeply saddened by the events that occurred on April 7 and we continue to pray for the families of the victims. We are pleased to have a better understanding of the mental turmoil that Phillip was dealing with during the last moments of his life," read a statement from Adams' family. 

Boston University says that CTE can lead to "memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, impulse control problems, aggression, depression, suicidality, parkinsonism, and eventually progressive dementia."

According to his former agent, Adams, at one point, suffered two concussions in a three-game span when he played for the Raiders in 2012.