Left: Eric Cobb (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office). Right: Connecticut’s Eric Cobb (0) reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Cincinnati, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
An ex-college basketball standout who played for the University of South Carolina and the University of Connecticut allegedly murdered his mother in Florida and covered her body in blankets and towels.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it responded around 8 a.m. Monday to a home on 15th Street West. When deputies arrived to the “disturbing scene” they found 51-year-old Erika Winford unresponsive, suffering from gunshot wounds and wrapped in a blanket and towels in the backyard. Paramedics pronounced her dead on scene.
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Winford’s son, 28-year-old Eric Cobb, was taken into custody as he tried to slip out of the house, deputies said. He’s currently stands accused of second-degree murder. The sheriff’s office is working with the State Attorney’s Office to file formal charges.
Sgt. Steve Rudlaff told local NBC affiliate WTLV that they responded to the home after one of Winford’s friend’s went looking for her after she wasn’t answering her phone and discovered her body in a large pool of blood. Detectives talked to two witnesses: One said they heard a woman screaming, “he’s going to kill me,” around 8 p.m. Sunday and another, who heard several gunshots the same night. However, neither called 911, per Rudlaff.
Cobb, who stands 6-feet, 9-inches tall and weighs 240 pounds, last hooped for UConn during the 2018-19 season. He averaged just over 12 points per game, in 32 contests, mostly as a reserve. The season prior, he was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. He started his career at South Carolina but left the program following an arrest for shooting an occupied car with a BB gun during his freshman season. Cobb then played for a junior college in Florida before moving on to UConn.
Cobb grew up in Jacksonville but played his senior year at St. Francis Academy in Baltimore. He was a four-star recruit and the 21st-ranked power forward in 2015, according to ESPN.
He now sits in the Duval County Jail without bond.
