JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A former college basketball “standout” has been arrested for the murder of his mother, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Eric Cobb, 28, is accused of shooting his mother, 51-year-old Erika Winford, and wrapping her body in a blanket and towels in the backyard.
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Police said Winford’s body was found Monday morning in the backyard of a home on 15th Street West in Durkeeville.
Action News Jax’s Shanila Kabir dug into the suspect’s background and found that Cobb has a violent criminal arrest background, including assaulting an officer and resisting arrest in October 2023.
RELATED: Former UConn, South Carolina basketball player arrested in mom’s murder, Jacksonville police say
Cobb was a basketball “standout,” however he was kicked off the basketball team at the University of South Carolina for assault and property damage in 2016.
JSO said this past weekend, right before Winford was murdered, she expressed to a friend that she was scared of her son, Eric Cobb.
That is the friend who called police when he found Winford dead in her backyard Monday morning.
RELATED: ‘We will give them any support we can’: Neighbors offer to help family of woman found dead in yard
She was shot Sunday evening.
One neighbor who asked to stay anonymous said the whole block could hear the woman’s screams.
“I heard gunshots, and I heard the lady scream. I didn’t know what to do because I really didn’t know if she was playing or if it was real. But it was real,” the neighbor said.
RELATED: Woman’s body found covered with blankets in Durkeeville backyard, Jacksonville police say
Saturday, the day before she was murdered, the victim said her son was “possessed” and needed medication, Cobb’s arrest report said. Friends said Winford told others that Cobb was schizophrenic.
The two lived together in that home in Durkeeville.
Officers said Monday they detained Cobb for questioning as he was seen leaving the home.
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Shortly after the interview, officers arrested him, and Cobb is now sitting at the Duval County Jail. Cobb was arrested for second-degree murder.
During the investigation, officers found that Cobb owned several guns.
“There’s a lot of kids here, it’s just not good. There’s a lot of shooting going on,” a neighbor said.
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Another neighbor who also asked to stay anonymous said the neighborhood is rattled.
“This is basically a very quiet neighborhood, odd things happen here and there but, overall, it’s a quiet neighborhood. It always has been,” the neighbor said.
Family members told officers Cobb was very violent towards his mother.
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