Episode 459: The Rock Hill Massacre

On April 7, 2021, a man showed up to a property in Rock Hill, South Carolina and took the lives of six people. Robert and Barbara Lesslie had been taking care of their grandchildren, Noah and Adah, when former NFL player Phillip Adams shot them to death. He also killed two HVAC workers on the property, James Lewis and Robert Shook. Adams’ actions have been attributed to the head trauma from his time playing football - and after his death, he was diagnosed with Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly  referred to as CTE, and it is believed this is what lead to his actions. 

Sources for this episode:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370921

https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/remembering-6-killed-rock-hill-shooting-2-years-later-phillip-adams/275-c78274f9-690d-4514-ab40-67a8a8ba1a04

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/us/phillip-adams-cte.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/04/08/what-we-know-victims-south-carolina-shooting-robert-lesslie/7139102002/

https://www.gastongazette.com/story/news/crime/2021/04/10/rock-hill-south-carolina-mass-shooting-6th-victim-dies/7178674002/

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32866344/autopsy-ex-nfl-player-phillip-adams-accused-killing-six-people-shows-unusually-severe-cte-damage

https://www.facebook.com/ConcussionFoundation/posts/warning-this-story-contains-mentions-of-suicide-that-may-be-triggering-to-somein/1222025783301410/

https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article260100460.html

https://people.com/crime/family-relatives-killed-ex-nfl-player-hearts-bent-toward-forgiveness/