Former NFL player Kevin Ware Jr. has pleaded guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, Taylor Pomaski, and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, accoeding to multiple reports from Houston.
Ware, 44, agreed to accept a plea deal in court on Wednesday, just days ahead of the slated jury selection for his trial, and accepted the prison term for murder and tampering with evidence – “specifically a corpse” – in the 2021 death of Pomaski.
When prosecutors offered Ware a plea deal in court, Judge Brian Warren pushed Ware for a decision by saying, “I’m going to play football with you right now,” per the Houston Chronicle. He cautioned the former tight end, who played with the Washington Redskins and then the San Francisco 49ers in the mid-2000’s, that the plea deal offer came with a time limit, and that ultimately, Ware could face life in prison.
Ware eventually accepted the deal.
NOTE: This article contains disturbing details about the crime.
Ware, who played in high school at Houston’s Klein Oak High, was indicted by a grand jury in Harris County, Texas in July 2022 on murder and tampering charges in connection with the death of Pomanski.
29-year-old Pomaski was last seen at a party at her home in Spring, Texas, on April 25, 2021. In December, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department discovered human remains in a north Harris County ditch. The remains were identified as Pomaski at the end of April 2022.
Ware killed girlfriend Pomaski by cutting her, hitting her with a blunt object and strangling her, according to court documents, which also include evidence that Ware burned her corpse.
In 2020, an ex-boyfriend said friends believed Pomaski was in a toxic and abusive relationship.
“Taylor reached out to me many times throughout the month of April,” Eric Zuleger said during an interview with KHOU 11 News. “We were talking about her getting out of there, getting back on her feet, getting herself set and stabilized.”
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