Officials will examine the brain of Phillip Adams, the former professional soccer player accused of fatally shooting a South Carolina doctor, three family members and a repairman before committing suicide, will be tested for a degenerative disease.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said in a statement to the media on Friday that Adams’s family has allowed her to conduct the investigation as part of his autopsy. The research is being conducted in collaboration with Boston University.
The autopsy will be an attempt to test for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The disease has been found in a number of other former soccer players who suffered repeated brain trauma.
Guest did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.
Authorities say Adams, 33, went to the home of a prominent doctor, 70-year-old Robert Lesslie on Wednesday afternoon. Police found Lesslie, along with his wife, 69-year-old Barbara Lesslie, and their two grandchildren dead with gunshot wounds. James Lewis, an air conditioning technician who worked in the house on Wednesday, was also killed.
Adams was found dead at his parents’ home shortly after midnight with a single self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Lesslie had reportedly treated Adams. The police are still looking for a motive in the shooting.