Former Ohio State defensive captain Chico Nelson, a former three-year starter in Columbus, passed away on Tuesday morning. He was 46.
New details about the circumstances of Nelson's death emerged Wednesday. Nelson is scheduled to undergo an autopsy this morning to determine his official cause of death, but Grove City Police Det. Sgt. Chris White confirmed to Eleven Warriors signs point to suicide.
"[The autopsy] will be the official word, but we have no indication that it was anything other than a suicide," White told Eleven Warriors.
The Columbus Dispatch first reported Wednesday Nelson's death was "most likely a suicide."
Nelson, a native of Sarasota, Florida, was in Grove City staying as a house guest with residents with whom he went to church. Police told The Dispatch he left no note before using a handgun to shoot himself in the chest, but they did find some good-bye text messages to that were sent out "immediately prior to" his death.
White told Eleven Warriors the individual who called police after finding Nelson was the only other person staying in the house.
Tragically, this appears it wasn't Nelson's first attempt to take his own life. Police found evidence he may have tried to kill himself by carbon monoxide poisoning. The inside of the Kay Court garage was covered in a way to prevent noxious fumes from escaping.
