Former College Basketball Star Charged With Mother’s Brutal Murder

A former college basketball star has been arrested and charged with his mother’s murder, the CT Post reported.

Former University of Connecticut and University of South Carolina forward Eric Christopher Cobb, 28, has been charged with murder after the body of his mother, 51-year-old Erika Ellen Winford, was found in the backyard of their Jacksonville, FL, home wrapped in towels and blankets. Authorities were summoned to the home on Monday morning by a friend of Winford’s who conducted a welfare check after Winford didn’t answer her phone. The caller reported seeing a pool of blood on the patio steps and what appeared to be a body wrapped in sheets.

During the investigation, a neighbor told officers that they heard a woman screaming, “He’s going to kill me!” around 8 p.m. the night before. Another person claimed they heard what sounded like gunshots around the same time. Police on the scene who examined the body found the victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, stomach, and left leg.

Cobb was home at the time officers arrived, and he was taken in for questioning without incident. Inside the house, authorities found more blood and evidence that part of the hallway had been cleaned. They also recovered two guns, an AR-style rifle and a 9mm handgun, and corresponding live ammunition in an area of the living room which appeared to be Cobb’s makeshift bedroom. In a trash can outside, they found 14 spent 9mm shell casings.

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Winford’s unnamed male friend who phoned 911 claimed that he had spent most of Sunday with her and had plans with her on Monday. When he drove her home Sunday evening, he told officers, she seemed reluctant to go into the house. He returned the following morning after receiving no response to his phone calls.

The man and another friend of Winford’s allegedly told police that the woman was afraid of her “possessed” son who needed medication for mental health difficulties but was unable to afford it. Winford’s other son told police that he had lived with Cobb and his mother at the residence until just over a month ago, when Cobb “cursed out” Winford.

Cobb was arrested in 2023 for resisting arrest, at which time Winford defended him in a letter to the court (via First Coast News). At the time, she expressed "concern about his mental health breakdown,” writing, “I strongly believe that he experienced a mental breakdown due to the challenges he faces in his current situation. His unwavering dedication to basketball, coupled with the abrupt disruption caused by the pandemic, has seemingly taken a toll on his mental well-being." That case remains open.

At South Carolina, Cobb held a per-game average of 1.1 points and 1.9 rebounds during the 2015–’16 season, before he was let go after being charged with assault for firing a gun at an occupied vehicle. After transferring to UConn for the 2017–’19 season, he averaged 3.0 points and 3.4 rebounds across 47 games.