{"id":40548,"date":"2025-11-08T03:38:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T03:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/40548\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T03:38:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T03:38:17","slug":"devastated-family-of-late-dallas-cowboys-man-marshawn-kneeland-blame-cops-for-his-death-i-truly-think-they-killed-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/40548\/","title":{"rendered":"Devastated family of late Dallas Cowboys man Marshawn Kneeland blame cops for his death: ‘I truly think they killed him’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A distraught relative of tragic NFL star Marshawn Kneeland has sensationally blamed police for effectively \u2018killing\u2019 the rising Dallas Cowboys<\/a>\u00a0man in an exclusive Daily Mail interview.<\/p>\n

Jasmine Kneeland revealed her beloved first cousin had been due at a planned family reunion this week in Michigan<\/a>, days after the jubilation of notching his first NFL touchdown on Monday.<\/p>\n

But the 24-year-old defensive end shot himself after crashing his car and fleeing on foot following a Wednesday night police chase near Frisco, Texas<\/a>, when he refused to pull over for a violation. Police discovered his bloodied body in a porta-potty near a building.<\/p>\n

\u2018I truly think they killed him, I truly do,\u2019 said the 33-year-old cousin at her house in Kneeland\u2019s home city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. \u2018Because why else would he run for his life then kill himself in a porta-potty.<\/p>\n

Speaking as if Kneeland were still alive, she fought tears as she continued: \u2018Marshawn is not a violent person. He is not a hot head. Something here is just not right. Something made him really scared and he ran.<\/p>\n

‘This is nothing like him at all. He loves his family. He\u2019s like a big kid. He likes making TikTok<\/a> videos of the little ones in our family, he likes being around them a lot. He was generous with them, always buying stuff.<\/p>\n

\"Jasmine <\/p>\n

Jasmine Kneeland told the Daily Mail her beloved first cousin had been due at a planned family reunion this week in Michigan<\/p>\n

\"Marshawn <\/p>\n

Marshawn was in the midst of his second season when he shot himself dead on Wednesday, he is pictured here in August\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘I mean, why would he do something like that all of a sudden? That\u2019s not the person I know. Our family is utterly devastated.\u2019<\/p>\n

She added: \u2018We had this big reunion planned this week at the home where he grew up. We do that kind of thing. All the children come, all the family come together.<\/p>\n

\u2018We eat, we laugh, we pray together. Everybody\u2019s so proud of Marshawn. He\u2019s come such a long way and there was such love for him.<\/p>\n

‘He was supposed to be here with us in Grand Rapids. Not dead after a police chase.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kneeland \u2013 who scored his touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals \u2013 sent his family a group text saying \u2018goodbye\u2019 during the drama involving Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, according to a police audio dispatch.<\/p>\n

The two-minute segment also revealed his 22-year-old girlfriend Catalina Mancera warned cops he had a gun and she feared he would kill himself<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re talking to the girlfriend\u2026 she\u2019s saying he\u2019s armed and has a history of mental illness and her quote was \u201che will end it all,\u201d the dispatcher said in the audio obtained by TMZ Sports.<\/p>\n

Frisco Police Department said in a statement: \u2018After losing visual of the vehicle, troopers located it minutes later, crashed on southbound Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway.\u2019 It added the driver ran away.<\/p>\n

\"Marshawn <\/p>\n

Marshawn is pictured in 2023 while playing for the Western Michigan Broncos<\/p>\n

\"Kneeland <\/p>\n

Kneeland told the Daily Mail that his death had left the family devastated and questioning why he would do such a thing<\/p>\n

The tragic star\u2019s uncle Preston Kneeland told the Daily Mail he was not aware of any history of mental illness, despite the words in the police dispatch.<\/p>\n

And he shut down online speculation that drugs might have been involved in the tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u2019There\u2019s been social media garbage about drugs, but I can tell you Marshawn hated drugs, absolutely hated them,\u2019 he said. \u2018He never smoked, he never touched alcohol and he disliked prescription medicine. He would always try to find a natural way to treat things.’<\/p>\n

Details of the weapon Kneeland used to kill himself are not known. His uncle confirmed the player had a permit to carry in Michigan.<\/p>\n

At the modest single-family home where the tragic star grew up and where he was expected for a joyful reunion, his 66-year-old grandmother Regina Kneeland could hardly speak because of her grief. But she did say: ‘There\u2019s still an investigation going on.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kneeland\u2019s girlfriend Catalina, a budding entrepreneur building a business making sports apparel, has been by his side for three years, we can reveal.<\/p>\n

From Kalamazoo, Michigan, she was down in Texas when Kneeland killed himself. ‘She comes to the family gatherings too,\u2019 said the cousin Jasmine. \u2018But she\u2019s very, very quiet. She was always with him before he became well known.’<\/p>\n

Kneeland was haunted by the loss of his mother Wendy who died aged just 45 in February last year from an accidental drug overdose at her home in Buckeye, Arizona.<\/p>\n

A medical examiner found oxycodone and morphine in her system, alongside anti-depressants and muscle relaxants.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The 24-year-old football player is pictured with his girlfriend, Catalina Mancera<\/p>\n

\"Kneeland <\/p>\n

Kneeland scored his first NFL touchdown on Monday night, just two days before his death\u00a0<\/p>\n

He poured out his grief at her funeral in Wyoming, Michigan, saying: \u2018It\u2019s crazy, growing up she was always there for me, always going to all my games, always there for me.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s definitely tough\u2026 it tore me apart\u2026 I can feel her presence. I know she\u2019s still watching over me. I try to be as strong, as much as I can.\u2019<\/p>\n

Close family who spoke with the Daily Mail said it is not yet known if his funeral will be at the same church as his mother\u2019s.<\/p>\n

There were subtle signs of his singularity and possible inward focus while at college, according to a former roommate at Western Michigan University.<\/p>\n

Patrick Grange said: ‘He hung out with his girlfriend, he played video games, he watched films and played football. That’s what he did, like he was not into anything else.<\/p>\n

‘He didn’t party, he didn’t go out. Like he was strictly about his family and about football.’<\/p>\n

Grange hailed his late friend as a ‘selfless human being, a great team leader and mentor’ who let him live with him for two months without charging him a dollar in rent.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted Kneeland\u2019s love of ‘video games and anime’ [Japanese animation], with one of the football star’s tattoos offering a potential insight into a troubled soul.<\/p>\n

The player had an ink of an anime character called Shigeo Kagewama, nicknamed Mob, from the Japanese cartoon series Mob Psycho 100.<\/p>\n

The show tells the story of the titular character’s struggle to find happiness.<\/p>\n

Mob is described as a ‘powerful psychic who represses his emotions to keep his powers from getting out of control.\u2019.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the series, he is eventually able to come to terms with the emotions that frequently roil him and grow as a person.<\/p>\n

Kneeland\u2019s family issued an emotional joint statement shortly after his death, remembering him as a ‘devoted son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, grandson, and friend\u2019.<\/p>\n

‘We are devastated by this tremendous loss and are still processing the depth of our grief,’ they said.<\/p>\n

‘As Marshawn was making his mark on the football field with the Dallas Cowboys, he held an even more special place off the field \u2013 as a devoted son, brother, uncle, cousin, nephew, grandson, and friend.<\/p>\n

\"Tributes <\/p>\n

Tributes have poured in for Kneeland from around the NFL after the news emerged of his death<\/p>\n

‘He was kind, determined, humble, and full of love. His light shone brightly in every life he touched, and his spirit will continue to live on through the countless hearts he inspired.<\/p>\n

‘We are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support from friends, fans, and the community.\u2019<\/p>\n

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, whose brother took his own life in 2020, mourned Kneeland hours after the shock news, saying: \u2018It\u2019s been a very tough day. It\u2019s a tragic loss. I hurt.<\/p>\n

‘Heavy, heavy, heavy hurt for Marshawn. i hurt for his family. I hurt for his girlfriend. I hurt for every single one of my teammates.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is pain you don\u2019t wish on anybody\u2026. you wish Marshawn didn\u2019t have to go through what he went through.’<\/p>\n

For help and support contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A distraught relative of tragic NFL star Marshawn Kneeland has sensationally blamed police for effectively \u2018killing\u2019 the rising…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[738,102,113,104,103,3116,80,739,27],"class_list":{"0":"post-40548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-dallas","10":"tag-dallas-cowboys","11":"tag-dallas-headlines","12":"tag-dallas-news","13":"tag-michigan","14":"tag-nfl","15":"tag-sport","16":"tag-texas"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40548\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}