Billy Knight's Death

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Former UCLA basketball player Billy Knight - who was facing charges of sexual abuse of a girl - was found dead on a highway in Phoenix, AZ. Knight's death, 39, happened days after posting a video asking God for forgiveness for his "life of sin."

The athlete was found at 3 am Sunday and pronounced dead shortly thereafter by the Phoenix Fire Department, PEOPLE confirmed. So far there are no signs of homicide and his death remains under investigation by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner.

Weeks earlier, Knight had been charged with six felonies for sexual abuse of a girl, PEOPLE confirmed. According to Maricopa County Superior Court documents, between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018, Knight committed multiple acts of sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a minor. Knight was accused of abusing the girl on a couch while they both watched movies and while the girl was asleep in her mother's bed. TMZ has reported that the girl was 9 years old.

Days before his death, Knight posted a video on YouTube titled "Sorry God." In the video, which has already been deleted, he regretted having hurt others. "This is probably my last message on Earth," it said, according to CBS News. "I just want to say that I lived a life of sin." In the video, he also said that he felt lost, alone and had left his family. "Life is not a game," he reflected.