NFL player Calais Campbell's
brother is charged with murder after mother found dead
[July 02, 2026]
By KATE BRUMBACK
ATLANTA (AP) — A brother of NFL player Calais Campbell has been
charged with murder after police found their 71-year-old mother dead
at her home in Atlanta during a welfare check. His family told
police he struggled with mental illness.
Arrest warrants say Nateal Campbell’s throat was cut and Ciarre
Campbell was found with a knife. Officers found her unresponsive
when they arrived at around 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to a
police statement.
Ciarre Campbell, 41, was booked into the Fulton County Jail, where
he was being held without bond, and waived his initial court hearing
Wednesday on charges including aggravated assault and murder. A
lawyer listed for him in online court records did not immediately
return an email and voicemail seeking comment on the charges.
In a 911 call released by police, an unidentified man can be heard
asking for a wellness check. He tells the dispatcher that he is
trying to get inside his mother's house with his brother and
sister-in-law. He says they can see another brother, who is
“mentally ill” and lives with their mom, inside the home. The caller
says the brother inside had said their mother left, but a neighbor's
camera footage shows she didn't.
Police records show that before Tuesday, officers had received at
least nine calls for service to that address since September for a
variety of reasons, including a fight in progress, a suspicious
person and an earlier welfare check.
According to a police incident report, a sister of Ciarre Campbell
called police on April 24 and said her brother was inside the home
and had “started a fire to rid the house of the demons.” The sister
told an officer that her mother lived there but had not been at the
house for a week because Ciarre Campbell “has overtaken the home.”
Neighbors called the police on multiple occasions to report
disturbances, and Nateal Campbell told an officer in mid-April that
her son had not been taking medication prescribed to treat
schizophrenia, reports show.
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This undated booking photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriff's
Office on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, shows Ciarre Campbell. (Fulton
County Sheriff's Office via AP)
The Campbell family issued a statement asking for
privacy while they deal with “overwhelming grief.”
“We are devastated to share that the Campbell
Family has lost its matriarch, Mrs. Nateal Campbell,” the family
statement said. “While the details of her passing are still being
investigated, we take comfort in knowing she is reunited with our
father, her beloved Chuck, and in the arms of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ.”
A defensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, Calais Campbell is
entering his 19th NFL season after signing a one-year, $5.5 million
contract in April. He is the oldest active defensive player in the
NFL going into the 2026 season. He will be 40 on Sept. 1.
The 2017 first-team AP All-Pro selection has been voted to the Pro
Bowl six times in a career that started as a second-round pick in
2008 with the Arizona Cardinals.
The former Miami Hurricane spent 10 seasons with the Cardinals and
also played in Jacksonville, Atlanta and Miami.
Campbell has 117 career sacks in 278 games, including 259 starts.
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