The 2023 NFL Draft reminded us, as though it were necessary, that family is big in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization. The team drafted Joey Porter Jr., cornerback out of Penn State, the son of its former outside linebacker bearing the same name. They also drafted Nick Herbig, younger brother of Nate Herbig, whom they signed earlier this offseason as a free agent.
One members of the extended Steelers’ family is hurting today. Antwaan Randle El and his family are dealing with an unfathomable situation, as his brother, Marcus, was just sentenced to serve two consecutive life sentences after being convicted of multiple counts of murder back in January, which we wrote about at the time. I will quote myself in recap:
“A jury found him guilty of the shooting death of two women that prosecutors argue were murdered because Randle El believed they were involved in informing on him to the police about his drug dealings. He was also found guilty of felony possession of a firearm and operating a vehicle without consent while in possession of a weapon”.
The shootings took place in February of 2020, killing Brittany McAdory and Seairaha Winchester. According to Channel 3000’s Jaymes Langrehr and Kathryn Merck, Marcus murdered Winchester over fears she would report him to the police, and McAdory was murdered as a witness on the scene of the first murder.
“Three years ago, my brother made a terrible decision”, Antwaan said. “He made his decision and it’s affected so many, but I don’t know where he went wrong. Something else had to be going on medically, mentally for him to make a decision that would change everything”.
He added that Marcus, who previously discussed suffering post-career difficulties symptomatic of CTE such as memory loss, mood swings, and motor function difficulty, “was not what everybody has seen”. According to the defense, he suffered from borderline personality disorder.
The life sentences are automatically triggered for the conviction involved in these cases in the state of Wisconsin. The judge ruled that he may be eligible to file a petition for early release following the serving of 30 years of each sentenc, meaning that he would have to serve 60 years, at the least.
“I will never forget how I had to tell her four girls that somebody killed their mom”, said Winchester’s mother following the sentencing. “A mother should not have to view their daughter’s body and plan their funeral”. She said that her grandchildren are now dealing with the trauma of the aftermath, as one would expect.
She added that she hopes there is a special place in hell for Marcus, and that for the first time in her life, she truly knows what it is like to hate somebody. The victim’s 10-year-old daughter offered that she hopes Marcus dies in prison, when asked what she wanted to happen to him.
Randle El shot Winchester in the back of the head before running her over with McAdory’s vehicle. He then chased McAdory down as she attempted to flee and shot her in the face. He later crossed state lines into Illinois and gave himself up to authorities.
