A high school football coach finds himself behind bars, facing charges for the murder of his girlfriend. Carl Kearney Jr., a 43-year-old coach at Spalding High School, has been charged with first and second-degree murder after he walked into a Maryland police station and confessed to killing 38-year-old Patrina Best, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
Officials from the Prince George's County Police Department stated that Kearney came into the Clinton station on Saturday and admitted to strangling his girlfriend during an argument, in her home located in the 800 block of St. James Court, Accokeek, Maryland. Following the confession, police responded to a welfare check at the residence where they discovered Best unresponsive, and she was pronounced dead at the scene, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Kearney, a native of Griffin and former player at Georgia Southern University, has had a notable history in football, signing with the New York Jets in 2004 as a wide receiver. Although he played preseason games for the Jets in 2004 and 2005, he never saw regular season action, per team records. Kearney's coaching tenure began at Griffin before he took the reins at Spalding High in 2020, where he earned accolades for turning around the football program.
Last season, Kearney's leadership took Spalding to its first region title in 20 years, culminating in a formidable 13-1 record, and pushing into the Class 4A quarterfinals. Under his guidance, the school's football program went through an unprecedented phase, making playoff appearances in consecutive seasons in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Kearney was twice honored with the Georgia High School Football Daily's Class 4A coaches award for the most improved winning team in Class 4A, according to the records.
Condolences have been pouring in for Best, a Georgia Southern University graduate, as friends and family members took to the internet to express their shock and sorrow over her untimely demise. Meanwhile, Kearney remains in custody in Maryland where he awaits legal proceedings regarding the charges filed against him.
