Former NFL tight end Kevin Ware Jr. has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2021 murder of his girlfriend, Taylor Pomaski.
Ware, 41, entered a guilty plea on Wednesday in connection with the killing, which occurred in Texas and involved multiple acts of violence followed by an attempt to destroy the victim’s body.
Ware, who previously played for the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers, agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors, admitting responsibility for Pomaski’s death.
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Pomaski, 29, was last seen alive at a house party on April 25, 2021, at her residence in Houston, according to NBC affiliate KPRC Houston.
Following her disappearance, suspicion mounted due to Ware’s erratic behavior and prior legal issues. Just days before Pomaski was reported missing, Ware had been stopped for driving 115 mph in Montgomery County.
During that stop, authorities found him in possession of multiple firearms, including a loaded AK-47, as well as cocaine and methamphetamine, ABC13 Houston reported.
Pomaski’s remains were discovered several months later in December 2021, dumped in a ditch in Harris County.
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A medical examination and investigation revealed she had been subjected to severe violence before her death.
According to court records, Ware “cut her with a knife, hit her with a blunt object, strangled her and then burned her corpse.”
The detailed account of the violence led to the eventual murder charge, which Ware pleaded guilty to this week.
Pomaski’s former boyfriend, Eric Zuleger, told KHOU 11 News that Pomaski had been planning to leave the relationship before she vanished.
“Taylor reached out to me many times throughout the month of April,” Zuleger said.
“We were talking about her getting out of there, getting back on her feet, getting herself set and stabilized.”
Ware’s criminal history had already resulted in legal consequences prior to the murder conviction.
On December 12, 2022, the day his trial was scheduled to begin for the earlier weapons and narcotics offenses, Ware pleaded guilty to those charges and received a 15-year sentence.
That sentence runs concurrently with his new 30-year sentence for murder.
Ware’s background includes a brief NFL career. He played high school football at Klein Oak High School in Harris County, Texas, before joining the University of Washington.
Although he went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft, he signed with the Washington Redskins later that year.
Ware played 11 games in Washington before being waived on June 29, 2004. The San Francisco 49ers signed him the following month, and he appeared in five games with the team.
He was also signed by the Oakland Raiders, though he never played in a game for them.
The sentencing closes a case that has drawn attention both for its disturbing details and for the high-profile background of the defendant.
Texas authorities have not announced any further charges related to the case.
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