Du’Vonta Lampkin.Photo: Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire/Getty
After a gridiron career that took him from the University of Oklahoma to the ranks of professional football, Du’Vonta Lampkin was ready for a new start.
But on the cusp of partnering with his cousin to learn the ropes of the real estate business, the 25-year-old was discovered dead from a single gunshot in the rented Dallas apartment where he was staying the night before moving into his new home.
Police are investigating his death as a murder, they said in anews release.
“Du’Vonta was full of life and spirit, was a supportive teammate and a joy to be around,” the University of Oklahoma football program said in atweetannouncing his death.
Lampkin played defensive tackle for the Sooners for three seasons, from 2015-17, before he entered the 2018 NFL draft and signed with the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent, reportsSports Illustrated. He did not play in any regular-season games for the Titans and ended his football career after a year with the Massachusetts Pirates in the indoor arena league in 2019.
“I couldn’t stop crying the other day because [all] I was thinking about was all the memories of him growing up,” his cousin, Kerry Lampkin, toldFOX 4 Dallas.
After football, Lampkin moved back home to Houston, where he had played for Cypress Falls High School, but told his cousin that he was ready to advance beyond the athletic field. Kerry Lampkin recalled a text that Du’Vonta sent him several months ago, saying that he was looking for someone to mentor him after his planned move to Dallas.
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Kerry worked in the real estate business and was eager to start teaching his cousin about that field. “He was excited about real estate and I think would’ve [been] successful because anything he puts his mind to, he will conquer it,” he said.
Friends who found his body at the Airbnb they’d rented for him before his Dallas residence was ready said that Du’Vonta’s backpack, cell phone and wallet all were missing.
“You took a great soul that everybody loved,” said his cousin. “Du’Vonta wouldn’t hurt anybody, man. He had a heart of gold.”
“It’s senseless,” he said. “I put it in God’s hands, and I believe justice will be served.”
source: people.com
